[1]Facing delays in the commissioning of Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant (KNPP) due to opposition by locals over safety issues and consequent non-supply of power, small and medium industries in the district will stop production for a day on December 20.
Erode District Small and Tiny Industries Association secretary S. Balasubramaniam said four to six hour power cuts a day for the last several years had badly affected production.
According to the association, up to 10,000 units would go on a day's protest against power cuts and delays in KNPP.
Only power from KNPP fed to the state grid would solve their problems, he said, adding the Centre and the State Government should take steps to get the plant commissioned.
He said the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, instead of imposing daily power cuts, announce a power shutdown for one day a week and supply electricity on other days.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said during his visit to Russia that the first unit of the Kudankulam project will be operationalised in a 'couple of weeks'.
"I am confident that in a couple of weeks we should be able to go ahead with operationalising Koodankulam one and Koodankulam two a period of six months thereafter," Singh said.
He said there are 'temporary problems' due to agitation by some people out of concern over nuclear safety that could impact on the livelihood of the people in the plant area in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
However, India and Russia did not sign any agreement on construction of the third and fourth units.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/kudankulam-pti10jpgcropdisplayjpg-912