Economic Times looks at Himalayan Profits not at a Himalayan Disaster

T

he Economic Times this week carried an extremely biased article regarding the Uttarakhand flood tragedy titled “Uttarakhand floods: Why damning the dams is Himalayan blunder” by Avdhash Kaushal  (click here to view the said article.)

While the appearance of such a biased article is only to be expected from a “pink paper” that does not leave any stone un-turned to promote big businesses and the so called “development” based policies which the government adopts; it is a completely biased article, with deliberate falsification of ground level realities and even the language used which are not befitting one of the largest circulated business and economy publications in India. What is even more jarring is that its own sister publication from the Bennet Coleman Co.; the Times of India has carried many articles (including one in its July 3 edition) which talks of the possibility of a repeat of the Uttarakhand tragedy in the neighboring hilly state of Himachal Pradesh (H.P.) for the same reasons as Uttarakhand.

The authors' agenda appears to be as defensive as possible towards all things that can damage the ecology & environment and he goes on to blame NGO’s, environmentalists and others working to save the fragile planet by calling them “jholawala’s.” This derisive attitude of the author and the publication shows that it is indeed these “jholawala’s” who are preventing these businessmen, their business houses and their advertising partner’s from doing damage, thereby giving them such severe heartburn.

The article finds faults with every known source of energy - from coal to nuclear and even renewable solutions such as wind and solar!!!

At one point of time, his heart bleeds for the birds too when he writes that “Wind mills and the noise associated with them are harmful for ornithology….” Well, the effects of the mindless plunder of the rivers and damning of them leads to destruction of marine life as well to the protected species living in areas where the dams and the changed course of rivers affect their natural habitats. Again, he is completely mindless about the amount of noise, air and dust pollution caused by the construction of these projects.

 His next dig is at solar when he claims that “solar panels need an army of cleaners who would have to "toil in hot sun to constantly keep them (the solar panels) clean” I do not know about the author or about the editors who proof read such articles, but anyone venturing out into India will see the millions of people toiling away in the hot sun simply to make enough to survive. When they cannot even get that after toiling and sweating, many resort to committing suicide even while the champions of industry such as Montek Singh Ahuluwallia keep reducing the amount of money to remain under the Below Poverty Line figure (inflation is incidentally in double digits). Surely cleaning solar panels is far less strenuous than ploughing, sowing and reaping crops or pulling a cycle rickshaw in the blazing sun because their fertile lands were "acquired" for some dubious project giving them a pittance in return.

The agenda of these businesses and the government is simple – change the statistics to show that poverty is eliminated even while they earn super-normal profits from plundering the poor and the natural resources of the country.

Coming to his point that Hydel power is the only viable source of “development” in the state along with tourism: The people who will benefit most by these proposed large number of Hydel projects are the project developers and the contractors for whom it is a huge profitable opportunity. It is the local people who will face all the hydrological risks due to these dams, live in fear of seismic activities such as earthquakes, land slides, rockfalls and floods in this fragile and highly earthquake-prone zone. In addition, the construction of dams renders many people homeless and landless leading to continued economic difficulties, which has been seen even in the Narmada project. 

Construction of dams leads to increased heavy vehicles and machinery constantly traveling in the region, all adding to air pollution and noise pollution. The constant use by these heavy vehicles leads to road life being cut short and massive expenses in again connecting the road networks.

The fact remains that these dams would not have caused such extensive damage if there had been only a handful of them. But the sheer number of dam projects in the state - and the hundreds more that have been cleared by the state - show the immense greed of the politicians and the business houses. The constant dumping of muck and debris into the rivers is a huge problem leading to increase sedimentation rates and the accumulation of silt. In fact dams are expected to be sedimented within 25-30 years against their expected lifetime of about 50+ years. 

It might be wise for the author to study the Banqiao and Shimantan Dam breaches in China in 1975 where 100,000 or more lost their lives. Extreme rainfall beyond the planned design capability of the dam caused this worst dam failure till date. In fact, even India saw such a breach in 1979 at the Bachucha dam in Gujarat in which up to an estimated 15000 people perished. This was also because of excessive rains beyond the designed carrying capacity of the water spillways, So, when he gives specious arguments stating that the Tehri saved people, perhaps he should be thankful that the Tehri dam did not breach because the rains subsided just in time.

It is this attitude by well educated people who simply believe in one side of the issue and pander to the profit hungry and heartless business houses which is a condemnable attitude, bordering almost on criminal conspiracy.

       

The article further goes on to make ridiculous statements such as “Therefore, the jholawallahs should be banned from using known sources of production of primary electricity. They should not use secondary batteries also since they contain lead, lithium, metal hydrides and heavy metals that are likely to cause poisoning and cancer.”

This is such a hilarious and ill-informed comment that it probably was written out of frustration and not having any other facts to berate about and obviously pro-business houses once again. Solar technology has moved by leaps and bounds and has matured exponentially in the past few years. The first generation batteries and panels and cells have given way to newer technologies which are far more efficient and use very less polluting raw materials or cause huge amounts of waste. If we just talk about solar energy, then the latest available country wise installed solar capacity will surely make anyone do a rethink.

RANK	COUNTRY	Installed Solar Power per Million People
1	Germany	302  MW
2	Italy	214  MW
3	Czech Rep.	186  MW
4	Belgium	184  MW
5	Spain	95  MW
10	France	40  MW
12	Japan	38  MW
14	Switzerland	27  MW
19	Canada	16  MW
21	UK	14  MW
22	USA	13  MW
25	Taiwan	4  MW
26	Ukraine	4  MW
28	China	2  MW
32	India	0.381  MW
33	Mexico	0.356  MW
34	Brazil	0.166  MW

(Figures as available till end 2011, 2012 figures not officially available yet)

It is interesting to note here that the top countries in solar energy belong to regions which see snowfall and the sun does not shine as brightly as in India. In fact, a lot of these countries also have Hydel power potential; but the damage to the environment and ecosystem, the socio-economic impact on local population, the effects on the flora and fauna have made them opt for solar which is far safer and cheaper. 

In any case, for an ecologically fragile state to depend on Hydel power for about 78% of its needs (and increasing) does not bode well for its well-being or even for its own tourism industry.  In fact most of the North Eastern states and Himachal are also falling for this lure of money with Mehayala at 84% hydel dependence and Himachal at close to 79% 

It is nothing but shooting oneself in the foot if we look at the long term implications of such specious "development."

The second interesting takeaway from the above chart is not only the huge potential for solar in the bottom 3 countries and which has not happened (They are all blessed with strong sunshine and wind). This is not for any of the reasons which the suddenly bleeding heart environment and health conscious author gives us, but because of vested interests of large business houses to set up dubious coal, gas and nuclear power projects where there is extremely high earnings during construction, operations and finally even in the decommissioning and waste disposal. They would very well like to keep their businesses well-oiled in all aspects and laugh all the way to the bank.

Arguably, there is no energy source which is 100% clean. But common logic tells you that every country, every region and every state should adopt a sustainable way of living, using as little of the scarce natural resources and to make efforts not to add more to the rampant pollution and climate changes which cause such disasters. 

It also does not befit a publication of such stature as the Economic Times to indulge in such propaganda – probably for their own vested business interests.

The good of the people, the country - in fact of the whole earth - should receive priority rather than resorting to such anti people and anti-national false advertising for whom humanity is subservient to their business interests.

NaMo Fear crosses Gujarat, Andhra and extends to the US

NaMo fear crosses Gujarat, Andhra and extends to US

Narendra Modi alias NaMo who could well be the next PM of India

Yesterday, I had published a fake Facebook wall detailing tongue in cheek about the collusion between Indian politicians and the global corporate world (link here.)

And we are already seeing the frenzy by NPCIL and the Centre to quickly adhere to the diktats of the US masters as in Kovvada Andhra Pradesh even as the US giant GE does not have certification from the US Regulators for its planned nuclear reactors !!

Is it not shameful that the American Secretary of State came to India, gave an ultimatum to the Government of India that the Gujarat nuclear deal had better be signed by September 2013? Or else.....

Obviously, as I pointed out in the fake FB wall, the upcoming elections are giving the Americans much trouble. They know the Congress will most likely lose the general elections in 2014. This means a potential wilderness for the nuclear companies like GE and Westinghouse-Toshiba for about five years.

This is not to imply that the BJP will not sign the nuclear agreements and contracts. Far from it, the BJP is almost of the same opinion as the Congress as far as nuclear energy is concerned because of the common glue – kickbacks, contracts and money.

The BJP would gleefully sign any deal or even dilute the Nuclear Liability Act and make it easier for the Americans to set up their reactors in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

But then, there is a major diplomatic issue here.

The next ‘projected’ Prime Minister of India could well be a certain Mr. Narendra Modi (NaMo in short) of the BJP.

The same NaMo who has steadfastly been refused entry visa to the US because of his alleged collusion in the Gujarat communal riots of 2003 where he was alleged to have masterminded the pogrom to eliminate the minority Muslim population in connivance with senior police, bureaucracy and intelligence officials. 

The cases are meandering through courts, special courts, special investigations and have not reached anywhere near to closure. So, as per Indian Laws, NaMo is presumed innocent until proven guilty (in court). However, many people in India and the US government have already decided that based on circumstantial evidence NaMo is indeed guilty for the massacre of hundreds (nobody knows the real toll) of innocent people including women and children and causing a reign of terror over the whole state of Gujarat.

Now, if this gentleman becomes the Prime Minister, Obama might have to meet him, shake hands with him in some international conference or even invite each other to their countries as per protocol.

This is the worst case scenario which the US government would want to get into. They cannot be seen overly capitalist and shake hand with their erstwhile enemy No. 1 whom they have denied entry for so many years.

NaMo will obviously milk the situation to the maximum and probably even invite the American President to India (probably even to Gujarat) and rub salt into the wounds. He will stall any attempts by the Americans to do big business in India without extracting his pound of flesh.

Now, what he will try to extract will be a matter of conjecture, but it could be even a small concession like a Visa to travel to the US. As a charmer, NaMo is undoubtedly a great personality. And the US has a huge number of very wealthy Indian Guajarati’s who can contribute substantially to the BJP coffers!!!

It all depends on which way things pan out in the next three odd months before the whole of India slips into election mode slated for early 2014. John Kerry was spot on in fixing September 2013 as the deadline for signing a contract between NPCIL and Westinghouse. But, the Indian government has gone a step forward with its servile attitude and also offered to clear the way for the GE supplied Kovvada reactors in Andhra Pradesh which even  the US government has not certified. This premature land acquisition and bending backwards to please the Americans will eventually backfire on the Congress party - although they may just want to get out the mess they themselves created while signing the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal in 2008.

All one can wish is that the next government has enough sense to realize that there is a limit to how much money can be made out of disastrous projects like Jaitapur etc which will completely destroy lives, livelihoods, environment besides being economically unviable.

But then these wishes will not come true because the Congress and the BJP are two sides of the same Nuclear coin.

Secret FB Wall of Salman Khurshid and John Kerry - REVEALED

Mithivirdi: Massive Protest Against Proposed US-imported Reactors on April 26

Angry at the flawed and incorrect EIA report submitted by NPCIL in March and adamant that they will not allow this dangerous technology in their backyards, residents from Mithi Virdee,

Protesting farmers during the public hearing held earlier this year

adjoining villages and from Bhavnagar city will hold a protest meet and a rally. The rally to be held at the Bhavnagar Town Hall will be held on April 26th and will coincide with the 26th Anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. Thousands are still affected by the Chernobyl events and a large portion of the region is still uninhabitable.

Concerned people from the region do not want such a repetition of the events in their region

and have called for a cancellation of the project. The project has envisaged the installation of 6000MW electricity generation by installing American made Wistinghouse-Toshiba AP 1000 reactors. The technology used in these reactors is suspect and many leading international nuclear experts have called it a “unsafe” and potentially dangerous technology.

The rally comes in the backdrop of various other factors such as the proximity of the site to the worls largest ship breaking complex at Alang. In fact Alang has had a long and chequered history of dangerous accidents involving hazardous chemicals. The coastal regions around the Alang costline extending for about 16kms is already highy pollued with toxic waste. On the other side of Mithi Virdee is another problem – coal mining and a thermal plant which results in hige pollution as well.

Hemmed in on both sides by these factors, the residents of the region are in no mood to surrender their land for this monstrous project which has the potential for wide spread destruction of land and the sea. The residents have pledged that they will not accept assurances from the NPCIL nor will they accept ANY amount of compensation for surrendering their lands. The land around the projected site is highly fertile (despite claims of NPCIL that the land is barren) and has huge orchids of mango, chickoo, coconuts among others. These provide with a substantial income to the local populace and they do not seem intent to listen to the claims being made about the site evaluation which they claim was never done.

Fishing is another activity which will be adversely affected (or maybe completely terminated) if the nuclear power project is set up. The catch for the fish from the Mithi-Virdee region are in great demand in regions as far as 100 km from the region and also provide a good source of income.

Another factor which has been largely ignored is the threat by foreign ships in the region due to the proximity to Alang. About 30-40 foreign flag ships sail into Alang ship breaking yard each month and there is a possibility of terrorists mounting an attack on a nuclear facility using the cover of one of these ships. Closeness to Pakistan is also another danger which cannot be discounted.

The Shatranju dam supplies drinking water to the huge bustling city of Bhavnagar is barely 5 km away from the proposed nuclear site. Any damage to the nuclear plant will cut off water supply to the city which will cause a huge human rights problem in the whole region.

All these factors have made the site selection itself highly questionable according to the local residents prompting the massive rally on April 26th at Bhavnagar. It remains to be seen if the officials will listen and address the concerns of the local residents or ignore them as they have done at the various sites where new nuclear projects are being planned.

Nuclear Safety is NOT a “moving target Mr. Narayanasamy

“Lack of accidents should never be taken as evidence of the absence of risk and just because an operation has not failed catastrophically in the past does not mean it is immune to such failure in the future” 

                                    – A basic Safety Theory

V Narayanasamy is the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which is a top level position in this country. Obviously, this position cannot be reached by sycophancy alone (although that does help), but one would also need a modicum of intelligence and common sense too if one were to occupy such high positions – not to talk of having an IQ in double digits.

Unfortunately, the proof of the pudding lies in its eating; and Mr. Narayanasamy may well have to eat his words.

In his statements to the Lok Sabha and elsewhere, he says “Safety is a moving target in nuclear power plants and is continuously evolving based on the reviews by utilities and AERB besides internationally evolving standards”

Mr. Narayanasamy, if you know something is not proven safe; do you still decide to stake your life on it and risk your life and livelihood and put your future generations at risk too?

V. Narayansamy (MoS in PMO) 

Well, to be very honest, I do NOT care if this gentleman wants to stake HIS life on this and play a lottery with HIS life. But I do care about other Indians who are being made a scapegoat in this high power game which is putting millions of lives at risk. The recent anniversary of 3.11 should be a stark reminder of this risk. March 11 2011 was the day on which the whole world watched the horrors unfolding in Japan and the subsequent meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors. These reactors are still in a critically dangerous condition and have the potential to wipe out a good part of Japan and humanity. Over 1,60,000 people have been unable to return to their homes for the past 2 years and there does not seem to be reasonable chance of them being able to do this any time soon. The effects of the Fukushima accident have been recorded as far as the USA and it continues to pollute the oceans with its radioactivity, affecting fish and even vegetables and milk.

Sir, in case you need a primer to understand the basics of radiation and its effects, reflect upon the fact that Chernobyl happened over a quarter of a century ago -yet, it cannot be inhabited again. Neither your Russian friends nor NPCIL will tell you the true facts. But, surely, you were eager to meet the chief of IAEA – Yukiya Amano – when he arrived in India on the very day the world was condemning nuclear energy. As part of the PMO, you would have let this government prostrate before this “gentleman” who is a known agent for the USA and to claim that we have won a historic victory for India. The Indo-US nuclear deal was in itself a shameless abdication of morality and sell-out to the western capitalists. What’s happening after that is even more amazing. Your government is signing Memorandum of Understandings and agreements with all and sundry countries including USA, France, Britain, Canada, S. Korea, Australia.

Selling economic benefits is something that the citizens of India have now got accustomed to. But to willingly put the lives of so many innocent people at risk can only get blood on its hands for this government. This is not something which this country can – or should – take lying down.

Obviously, there is something for the Government to gain out of investing so much capital in a totally unsafe and potentially devestating technology. While most people know what the quid pro quo is, I do not wish to delve deeper into that issue and would rather leave it to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to investigate and report.

If safety is indeed a “moving target”, then it means that all the reactors built during the last 40 years cannot be termed as 100% safe. Correct?

Yet, your own government – the Prime Minister himself – gave an assurance to the parliament on May 16th 2012 on the floor of the house that ALL existing nuclear reactors in India are safe and safety will be accorded priority (sic).

Here is the safety record of Indian nuclear reactors prior to Fukushima in a nutshell:

4 May 1987 – Kalpakkam

Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam. Refueling accident ruptures the reactor core resulting in a two-year shutdown.

10 Sep 1989 – Tarapur, Maharashtra

Operators at the Tarapur Atomic Power Station find reactor leaking radioactive Iodine at more than 700 times normal levels, repairs to the reactor take more than a year.

13 May 1992 – Tarapur, Maharashtra

A malfunctioning tube causes the Tarapur Atomic Power Station to release 12 curies of radioactivity.

31 Mar 1993 – Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

The Narora Atomic Power Station suffers a fire at two of its steam turbine blades, damaging the heavy water reactor and almost leading to a meltdown.

2 Feb 1995 – Kota, Rajasthan

The Power Station leaks radioactive helium and heavy water into the Rana Pratap Sagar River necessitating a two-year shutdown for repairs.

22 Oct 2002 – Kalpakkam

Almost 100 kg radioactive sodium at a fast breeder reactor leaks into a purification cabin, ruining a number of valves and operating systems.

31 March 1993 Two blades of the turbine in Narora (NAPS) Unit I break off, slicing through other blades and indirectly causing a raging fire, which catches onto leaked oil and spreads through the turbine building.  The smoke sensors fail to detect the fire, which is only noticed once workers see the flames.  It causes a blackout in the plant, including the shutdown of the secondary cooling systems, and power is not restored for seventeen hours.  In the meantime, operators have to manually activate the primary shutdown system.  They also climb onto the roof to open valves to slow the reactions in the core by hand. The incident was rated as a Level 3 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, INES and is the most serious incident in India which fortunately did not get out of control.

For more details refer to respected and renowned physicist M.V Ramana’s excellent documentation of this, it may just open your eyes.

Besides this, there have been a number of reported (and many unreported) cases of radiation poisoning of works at Kaiga and Rawatbhatta while the workers were at their jobs. (see here and here)

To callously claim that “safety is a moving target” means that the issue of safety will be addressed on a day-to-day basis and corrective action with be taken only AFTER some regulator insists (which the Indian regulator is utterly incapable, inefficient and unwilling to do.) This approach can only result in a catastrophe. It is like using a pay-as-you-go prepaid mobile connection; the balance is going to run out sooner than later.

The tsunami which hit Southern India in 2004 affected the Kalpakkam (MAPS) nuclear facility leaving it flooded and in a situation similar to Fukushima. 4

Yet, you and your government claim that Koodankulam is 100% safe!! To jog your memory Sir, there is a tsunami colony where thousands of people reside just a kilometer away from the Koodankulam Nuclear plant. Is this not proof that a tsunami DID actually inundate this region in 2004? But then I guess that even a high school student can connect the dots and make a reasonable judgment; although you may be incapable or unwilling to accept facts and choose to continue living in your ivory towers.

So, Mr. Naraynsamy, do you habitually let your family into dangerous situations and claim that since safety is a “moving target” it’s an acceptable risk? If God forbid something happens to them, will your conscience be clear and think that this was just another lottery you played and lost? I am sure you will not. You and your ilk would rather sit and have your families in the comfort of Delhi and put millions of people at risk all over the country. Your statement indicates such a high level of over confidence that it borders on being called an ego problem. This government will not learn from the fact that the Japanese government had the same attitude which led to the man-made catastrophe in 2011.

The parallels between the functioning of the Government of Japan (GoJ) pre and post Fukushima and the Government of India (GoI) are uncanny as are the similarities between the functioning of TEPCO and NPCIL as well as that of the regulators. It was this nexus along with greed and the overconfidence of all parties concerned that caused the dome of the reactors to be blown away spewing radiation and resulting in misery to everyone around besides being a perpetual threat now. Perpetuating the same lies – shrouded in deliberate secrecy – unaccountable to anyone and a sense of megalomania pervades the Department of Atomic Energy and its departments like NPCIL/BARC/AERB etc. The same thing happened in Japan, and the results are there for the world to see today.

But then, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

Only – in this case – neither history will forgive this government nor will the people let you commit the same mistakes. There is too much awareness of the facts and the hidden agendas of this government for people to trust this regime anymore.

SAFETY IS A GOAL, A FIXED TARGET THAT HAS TO BE ACHIEVED. IT IS NOT A MOVING TARGET. SO DO NOT CHANGE THE GOAL POSTS Mr. NARAYANSAMY.

Half truths and False Promises - The Power of Promise by MV Ramana

A discussion with MV Ramana and Lalita Ramdas about the need for nuclear energy and its ramifications for Indian democracy.

M. V Ramana is a physicist at Princeton University, USA and Lalita Ramdas is a prominent anti nuclear activist and environmentalist.

Anuj Wankhede and Caitlin Stronell spoke with them at the India International Centre in a free-wheeling discussion about the past, present and the future of the ‘atomic’ industry

“Anti Nuke” is a term which Ramana prefers NOT to use; as he put it, if ‘nuclear scientists’ are not called “Pro-Nukes”, then why should those who think nuclear power is a bad idea be called ‘Anti-Nukes?”

MV Ramana’s latest book “The Power of Promise” has been a long time in the gestation.

Starting from a paper written around 1999-2000 on the estimates of the quantities of nuclear waste generated by the Indian nuclear program, calculated in the context of revelations that the Department of Atomic Energy was proposing to dispose of radioactive waste at a site called Sanawada in Rajasthan, near Pokhran, this book is based on a number of academic papers on the economics and safety of nuclear power. The book resulted in part from his observations of the nature of the debate during the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal between 2005 and 2008.

During this debate, the Department of Atomic Energy claimed that it would massively expand its nuclear energy program and by mid-century, nuclear power would grow hundred-fold to constitute a major source of electricity in the country.

While many anti-nuclear activists were asking the question “Is this expansion desirable?” 
His question was and continues to be “Is this expansion feasible?”

His examination of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)’s history and past record, as well as how it is proceeding with its nuclear expansion, suggests that it is NOT feasible.

Ramana, says that he feels that it is very important to respond to grass roots issues. The very ‘expert’ status of nuclear scientists has tended to prevent a public debate on this vital issue, but what he wants to show people is that they can understand the issues involved in nuclear power expansion and he hopes that this will promote a much needed public debate. Lalita suggested that it would be very useful if Ramana could consider preparing a short monograph which could summarise the key issues that MV has covered in his book. Given that most people might not actually read the longer version, and that the concerns raised are seminal to creating a widespread awareness and providing scientific information on the reason for growing opposition to nuclear energy – would this be a feasible project? Ramana smiled and indicated that he might consider this.

Our discussion began with the costing issue. The most important promise of nuclear energy is that it is supposed to provide cheap and abundant electricity. But how is the cost of producing nuclear energy actually measured and understood? In an effort to make nuclear power seem competitive with other forms of power generation, various creative accountancy methods have been used. In the UK they came up with a system of plutonium credits to show that nuclear power would be more cost effective than coal. In India, despite inclusion of a plutonium credit, during the early years, nuclear power seemed to be more expensive than coal based power. Therefore, the DAE started pointing out that because India’s coal deposits are predominantly in the eastern part of the country, once the cost of transporting the coal for power generation plant is factored in, nuclear power becomes competitive with coal based thermal power.

During the 1960s, in the times of Homi Bhabha, the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, it was claimed that nuclear power would be cost competitive with coal-fired plants that were more than 600 km away from a coal mine. But at that time there were no nuclear power plants actually running. But as they gradually came online, the actual costs proved higher than initial estimates and the ‘600 km’ figure was revised to 800 km in the 1980s. In 1999, however, an NPCIL report said that nuclear energy would be cheaper than coal-fired thermal energy if the plant was more than 1200 km away from the coal mine.

Ramana has tested this assertion by using actual figures for what was then the most recently constructed nuclear and coal fired plants and even at a distance of 1400 km coal was still cheaper than nuclear. It became apparent during his research just how arbitrary these figures on cost of coal-fired and nuclear powered electricity were and how they were being used by the DAE to desperately try and prove the myth that nuclear produces cheap electricity.

Lalita pointed out that there should be a comprehensive cost comparison not between nuclear and coal, but between nuclear and renewable energy sources. Ramana agreed but suggested that it would take him a long time to get sufficiently reliable data for renewable sources of energy before he does that comparison.
But surely, we suggested, there are problems with the calculations of the costs of nuclear energy. Why, for instance, is the cost of waste disposal not included? And what about decommissioning the nuclear power plant ? Surely, these are hugely expensive exercises that will drive up costs?

Ramana explains that if you analyze these costs using conventional economic tools, the standard technique of discounting future expenditures will make them small in comparison to the overall sums that are being invested. The issue of waste disposal, likewise, is not seen as a huge cost in the DAE analysis. “They see it as just a matter of vitrifying the liquid wastes (mixing them with glass so that they become solid, preventing seepage), putting them in sealed containers and burying them in a repository, which is in essence a big hole somewhere.” The fact that no permanent nuclear waste dump has ever been built anywhere in the world might suggest that it’s not as easy as DAE thinks but this is just one example of the many ‘promises’ made by the DAE here present technical difficulties and are miraculously sorted out in a mythical future.
This example perhaps indicates how the DAE views ‘the public;’ the very people who will have to live next door to the waste dump or the nuclear power plant or lose their land and livelihood. Obviously people are not convinced by these assurances of safety or of the rosy future that DAE paints.
Protests regarding nuclear power plants will only intensify – rather than just go away – in the future and this is not something that the DAE is adequately taking into account. Since the Fukushima accident, DAE and NPCIL have been engaging in a strong PR campaign to try and convince the public about the merits of nuclear power.

Ramana doesn’t see these campaigns being very effective – at least with the people who will be directly affected – since there is such a major lack of trust between local people and the authorities.

Lalita makes an important point that sometimes even people who are exposed to relatively high levels of radiation – for example nuclear plant or mine workers – are not very clear about the risks they are taking and that it was difficult to get even trade unions involved in the anti-nuclear movement. There are so many risks that people face everyday in their lives and work and they just don’t feel that radiation damage could be that serious. According to Lalita: “This is where scientists play a key role in convincing people that these are real dangers, and we need to work with scientists to get credible data out to the public in a form they can understand and easily absorb if we are to counter the DAE propaganda.”

Ramana’s take was that low level radiation damage is fairly controversial but that it is the onus of the people who say it is harmless – i.e,. NPCIL, to prove that this is true. Given the risks that the people at Koodankulam or Jaitapur will be exposed to and that they have no choice if they want to stay on their land and pursue their lives and livelihood, this is un-democratic. Informed consent is surely one of our democratic rights and this is being flouted in all places where nuclear installations have been built or are being planned.

We can’t force people living in close proximity to these nuclear plants to take all the risks while others- including foreign companies – reap all the billions of dollars as benefits.

NUCLEAR ESTABLISHMENT PUSHING INDIA TO THE BRINK OF DISASTER

A

deadly and costly game is being perpetuated upon innocent Indian lives by the government of India. While we would not like to go into the technical aspects too much, it has become pretty obvious to any observer that the nuclear establishment has pushed India into an extremely precarious situation. To use the term “dangerous” is mild – because the government and the nuclear establishment have pushed not only India but also its neighboring countries towards disaster.

In August 2012, the CAG released a scathing report on the functioning of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India (AERB). Essentially what the report said was:

“The legal status of AERB continued to be that of an authority subordinate to the Central

Government, with powers delegated to it by the latter.”

So how would you feel if the police handled the courts too or if you mobile phone operator made his own laws and regulation? Obviously there would be a conflict of interest and no sane person can imagine that the regulations would be fair or trustworthy.

This is what Dr. A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).said about the report: “In India, safety and promotion are under one roof.” Both the AERB, which is entrusted with the task of conducting safety audits, and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which sets up nuclear plants, report to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/atomic-regulatory-body-ineffective-says-cag

More recently on Saturday February 16^th 2013, Dr. Gopalakrishnan said ““The decision (to order foreign reactors) was merely a quid-pro-quo to give business to the reactor manufacturers in those countries which helped India get a Nuclear Supply Group (NSG) waiver,” and that a conservative estimate of Rs. 20 crores per MWe for importing these reactors during next 20-25 years would cost tax-payer about Rs. 8,00,000 crores.

To put these figure in perspective, only about Rs. 34,488 crores as allocated in the last budget to heath care.

A look at these figures may surprise you:

BRICS country’s	GDP	Health Expenditure as % of GDP
Brazil	$ 2.49 trillion	9
Russia	$ 1.85 trillion	5.4
India	$ 1.67 trillion	1.4
China	$ 7.29 trillion	4.6
South Africa	$ 408.07 billion	8.5

*Approximate GDP data as on 2011 and Health Expenditure data as on 2009.

Source: World Bank, BRICS: Brazil Russia India China, South Africa

The above figures does not factor in the cost of de-comissioning these un wanted reactors nor the cost of storing the nuclear waste for over many centuries. It also does not take in the cost of re-processing the spent (used) nuclear fuel.

What a colossal national waste of resources which India is indulging into.  Money that should go into health care and education is being spent on opaque nuclear deals worth lakhs of crores are being spent on a dubious energy source that will not benefit social development but further increase the appetite for more electricity. Rather than speaking about conservation of electricity, the PM and the Planning Commission have made it a mission to target higher electricity consumption in the coming few years.

What  is the priority? To provide for sufficient, safe and sustainable power to the billions of Indians living in the hinterland or to build massively expensive and dangerous nuclear plants for the consumption of the elite and the upper class?

But then, who is benefitting from this?

Clearly, the politicians know how to earn their bread, butter, jam (and much more) from such deals. The bureaucrats are in line with the political bosses because that’s where their bread and butter comes from. The big industrialists benefit from the large contracts they bag. The foreign companies for whom India is a sitting duck because it is over hundred per cent corrupt. The foreign govenments of Russia, France, USA who offer the carrot of cheap military hardare ONLY if India signs nuclear deals with them. And countries like Australia for whom selling uranium fuel  to other countries is “lucrative business” but has taken a poition that it will not have nuclear energy in its own country.

All this has now become such a well oiled chain that everyone is indulging into a dangerous game of “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours”. Despite the learnings from Chernobyl and recently from Fukushima in Japan, the only intent of the government of India appears to be to garner as much money (over or under the table) by signing dubious nuclear deals without any proper study or a sense of necessity for them. Most of the nuclear power  plants being put up and planned in India would have not passed the muster in any western country here there is still some modicum of shame. But in India, it has become clear that the government and the nuclear establishment have chosen to brazenly lie about the true facts, the costs, the cost-benefit analysis, the environmental impact studies and much more.

Why should ordinary Indians take this type of incessant danger lying down?

Sample this from a statement made by Ratan Kumar Sinha, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission even as villagers panicked about radiation leaks at the Koodankulam nuclear power plant last week and ran helter-skelter for cover:  

"These are baseless rumours being spread to create panic among the citizens living near the plant. No blast has occurred”

http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/no-blast-or-deaths-at-kudankulam-nuclear-plant-india-s-nuclear-chief-to-ndtv-331725

This is an absolutely shameful admission by the Department of Atomic Energy that there is no real emergency preparadness plans at Koodankulam, there have not been sufficient mock drills and there is really nowhere the people can be evacuated to.

Do they even know the costs of rehabilitation and compensation (i.e. if it is EVER given to those affected)?

More interestingly, would these same people allow their families and children be exposed to such grave dangers? They obviously know the hazards and that is the reason their on staff quarters are far removed from the reactors, while the local contract workers are given housing in close proximity of the nuclear facility.

But then this statement as reported in media is a bigger shocker:

KNPP site director R.S.Sundar reacting to the charges of technical faults in the Koodankulam plant, said, “We cannot say technically everything is alright."

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130217/news-current-affairs/article/rumours-kudan%C2%ADkulam-radiation-leak-trigger-scare

If the top bosses in the Indian nuclear establishment can easily get away with such blatant statements even when it is publicly known that NPCIL is forced to do a second test on the equipment because the first one was not successful. The valves, the pressure, controls etc malfunctioned and in a face saving gesture engineers were flown in from all parts of the world to fix the problems.

Why is this government undertaking these huge cost over-runs, delays and putting hundreds of thousands of innocent people at risk?

And people are more concerned because they have seen in the past that disaster relief does not come in any timely manner, nor is rehabilitation achieved and the lesser said about ANY compensation is better.

So the only agenda that the government is pursuing is a defense and economic agenda – at a ridiculous cost. One can only reach the conclusion that greed for more power and money is so huge in the nuclear establishment that they prove the adage right –

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”  

The Reality at Jaitapur, Mr. Hollande

- Anuj Wankhede with Cressida Morley

French President Francois Hollande is making his first visit out of Europe since he was elected. And he has chosen India as a preferred destination for his visit starting tomorrow – 14th February.

On his radar is to sell Areva’s failed EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) nuclear reactors to India. Even as his own country has neither been able to implement the EPR reactors in France or Finland and nor has the US regulator certified it, the Indian government is eager to set up these reactors in a huge area in coastal Maharashtra – at Jaitapur – a highly bio-diverse region that needs preservation.

The carrot which the French president is dangling is the supply of fighter jets to India on “favorable” terms. The Indian government for want of more and more weapons (and probably with an eye on making some money out of the deal?) is turning a blind eye to the enormous damage this project will cause. Anuj Wankhede and Cressida Morley write about the Jaitapur protestors, who despite all efforts of the French and Indian governments, remain determined that this project will never see the light of day.

The beauty of the Ratnagiri coastline and surrounding area has to be seen to be believed.

Any government official from DAE to NPCIL would be crazy to think of destroying or even putting at risk this kind of natural biodiversity. It is already established that Maharashtra state itself does not require any more electricity than is already being produced and the Chief Minister himself is on record as saying that the state will be free of any load shedding by the year end.

So for whom is the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) being built?

Certainly not for the local people, the fishers, farmers and ordinary people whose livelihoods will be destroyed and their lives threatened. The government tells us that nuclear power is needed for ‘development,’ but the people who will be directly affected by JNPP have a very different ideas of what development is and whom it should benefit.

The fishing village of Sakhri-nate, is just a few kilometers by road from the proposed JNPP site – only 3 kilometers as the crow flies. You can see the site clearly just across the sea.

Slogans such as ‘No nuclear’ and ‘Areva go back’ are painted on walls all around the village and the people against JNPP vehemently say they are prepared to give their lives rather than allow the plant to come up. Recent newspaper reports have shown just how desperate NPCIL is to do a deal with the fishers by raising the compensation for land acquisition to Rs. 22.5 lakh per hectare from Rs.1.5 to 4 lakh announced previously.

But the fishers are adamant…it doesn’t matter how much they are paid when their livelihoods, their community, in fact their very lives are on the line.

Most of those opposed to the plant in Sakhri-nate are fishers but there are people of different professions as well, showing that it is not just a direct concern for livelihood but a much wider fear that JNPP will in fact destroy their lives and community. The activists have detailed knowledge of how the JNPP will affect their lives. For fishers, this knowledge may not be scientific in the academic sense of the word, but every day they observe the sea intimately as their lives literally depend on it. The knowledge that they have gained through long experience cannot be easily dismissed.

The fishing community is concerned that the effluent water used for cooling the nuclear plant – which will be pumped back into the sea at a temperature – at least 5-7 degrees Celsius higher than the natural temperature – will have a disastrous effect on the fish population and their breeding. The Government is trying to assure the fishers that a rise in seawater temperature would not affect the fish, except possibly to make them bigger! Obviously, the fishers are not buying this at all. They claim that the fish that presently inhabit their fishing ground will not be able to live in such a changed environment. Even if these fish are able to swim away to other areas of the sea, shellfish, for example cannot escape so easily and will surely perish. Perhaps, different species of fish will come to the area due to the raised temperatures but this also represents an unknown for the fishers. In any case, they refuse to believe that the environment will simply remain the same with such enormous quantities of heated water being pumped into the sea. As one fisher put it, even a refrigerator emits heat which can affect the surrounding air temperature and living things, so how can the government claim that an entire nuclear power plant will have no impact on the environment?

Others have expressed fears of terrorism and natural disasters.

Rocks Split apart

The cliffs surrounding Sakhri-nate, directly opposite the proposed site for JNPP, are spectacular to say the least. The solid rocks here weather the eternal beating of the sea waves.


Yet, this rock was split wide apart by lightening and electrical storms that are common in the area. It’s easy to imagine similar lightening bolts falling just a few kilometers away, and the damage they would do to a nuclear reactor. It would be a disaster of unimaginable proportions indeed.


Especially after Fukushima, the fear of accidents is very real and no amount of government assurances has convinced the activists that JNPP will be totally safe. The level of distrust towards the government is very high and palpable. Activists claim that the government contradicts its own reports and does not disclose ‘inconvenient’ information besides they feel the government is least concerned about the locals.

Rather than the government, Sakhri-nate fishers would rather believe their fellow fishers from another part of the state – Tarapur. They have travelled to nearby Tarapur which as the site for the first nuclear reactor to be built in India and they have seen what the nuclear power plants have done to the fishing catch. The fishing community at Tarapur is practically out of business due to the low catch and the enforced security ring around the plant which forces them to take long detours into the sea and which entails huge costs on diesel – not to mention the time spent.

At Tarapur, the locals were told 40 years ago that the Tarapur NPP was a matter of national pride. The local community and fishermen in that area gladly agreed to its construction, fully believing government assurances that the fish and environment would not be affected and that they would be adequately compensated. They have since been thoroughly betrayed and have warned their fellow fishers near Jaitapur to fight against JNPP – lest the same fate befalls them. The information received by the Sakhri-nate fishers from the Tarapur fishers is based on their bitter experiences and a shared understanding of the sea and the environment, both of which are integral parts of their lives and livelihoods. Who would you rather believe—the actual experience of your peers or the theoretical science of distrusted governments?

Ideas on development: worlds apart

The rift between the local community - dead-set against the NPP and the government, equally determined to build it - is not just about differing information and mistrust. There is a more fundamental difference in world view between these two parties. While the government’s idea of ‘development’ focuses on achieving ambitious electricity generation, attracting foreign capital and making more and more ‘goods’ for an ever-expanding market, the fishers of Sakhri-nate have different ideas.

As one local explained “We are already developed. We don’t need anything more; we have full employment in the village. Even disabled or illiterate people have jobs, mending fishing nets etc. We have enough electricity; all we ask is that the government allows us to pursue our livelihoods. We have enough money to live well now, as fishing is a lucrative industry, but if we loose our livelihood, we will have nothing.”

Others said that if development was needed at all in their village, it should be in the form of increased educational facilities – including vocational schools – so that their children would get better employment opportunities – if they choose to. There are also calls for growth which minimizes environmental destruction and which compliments local industries such as food processing factories for the fish and mangoes, also produced in large quantities in the Jaitapur area. The already present ice factories, which provide ice to pack the fish so they can be sent to different parts of the country, are another obvious example of this type of development.

It would seem that the government has underestimated the level and type of knowledge and information that the local community has or even tried to understand their concerns – leave alone address them. This is not to mention the high income and living standards enjoyed by the fishermen who do not want this so called lop sided “development” at such high risks.

But most of all, the official model of development is being called into question: Why should large-scale industrial projects be encouraged, in this case a foreign-funded project that carries a risk of unimaginable destruction, and why should local communities be required to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods for lighting up city malls while the locals who are being affected by the project will still have only erratic power supply – just as is the case at Tarapur?

The Reality at Jaitapur, Mr. Hollande

- Anuj Wankhede with Cressida Morley

French President Francois Hollande is making his first visit out of Europe since he was elected. And he has chosen India as a preferred destination for his visit starting tomorrow – 14th February.

On his radar is to sell Areva’s failed EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) nuclear reactors to India. Even as his own country has neither been able to implement the EPR reactors in France or Finland and nor has the US regulator certified it, the Indian government is eager to set up these reactors in a huge area in coastal Maharashtra – at Jaitapur – a highly bio-diverse region that needs preservation.

The carrot which the French president is dangling is the supply of fighter jets to India on “favorable” terms. The Indian government for want of more and more weapons (and probably with an eye on making some money out of the deal?) is turning a blind eye to the enormous damage this project will cause. Anuj Wankhede and Cressida Morley write about the Jaitapur protestors, who despite all efforts of the French and Indian governments, remain determined that this project will never see the light of day.

The beauty of the Ratnagiri coastline and surrounding area has to be seen to be believed. Any government official from DAE to NPCIL would be crazy to think of destroying or even putting at risk this kind of natural biodiversity. It is already established that Maharashtra state itself does not require any more electricity than is already being produced and the Chief Minister himself is on record as saying that the state will be free of any load shedding by the year end.

So for whom is the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) being built?

Certainly not for the local people, the fishers, farmers and ordinary people whose livelihoods will be destroyed and their lives threatened. The government tells us that nuclear power is needed for ‘development,’ but the people who will be directly affected by JNPP have a very different ideas of what development is and whom it should benefit.

The fishing village of Sakhri-nate, is just a few kilometers by road from the proposed JNPP site – only 3 kilometers as the crow flies. You can see the site clearly just across the sea.

Slogans such as ‘No nuclear’ and ‘Areva go back’ are painted on walls all around the village and the people against JNPP vehemently say they are prepared to give their lives rather than allow the plant to come up. Recent newspaper reports have shown just how desperate NPCIL is to do a deal with the fishers by raising the compensation for land acquisition to Rs. 22.5 lakh per hectare from Rs.1.5 to 4 lakh announced previously.

But the fishers are adamant…it doesn’t matter how much they are paid when their livelihoods, their community, in fact their very lives are on the line.

Most of those opposed to the plant in Sakhri-nate are fishers but there are people of different professions as well, showing that it is not just a direct concern for livelihood but a much wider fear that JNPP will in fact destroy their lives and community. The activists have detailed knowledge of how the JNPP will affect their lives. For fishers, this knowledge may not be scientific in the academic sense of the word, but every day they observe the sea intimately as their lives literally depend on it. The knowledge that they have gained through long experience cannot be easily dismissed.

The fishing community is concerned that the effluent water used for cooling the nuclear plant – which will be pumped back into the sea at a temperature – at least 5-7 degrees Celsius higher than the natural temperature – will have a disastrous effect on the fish population and their breeding. The Government is trying to assure the fishers that a rise in seawater temperature would not affect the fish, except possibly to make them bigger! Obviously, the fishers are not buying this at all. They claim that the fish that presently inhabit their fishing ground will not be able to live in such a changed environment. Even if these fish are able to swim away to other areas of the sea, shellfish, for example cannot escape so easily and will surely perish. Perhaps, different species of fish will come to the area due to the raised temperatures but this also represents an unknown for the fishers. In any case, they refuse to believe that the environment will simply remain the same with such enormous quantities of heated water being pumped into the sea. As one fisher put it, even a refrigerator emits heat which can affect the surrounding air temperature and living things, so how can the government claim that an entire nuclear power plant will have no impact on the environment?

Others have expressed fears of terrorism and natural disasters.

The cliffs surrounding Sakhri-nate, directly opposite the proposed site for JNPP, are spectacular to say the least. The solid rocks here weather the eternal beating of the sea waves. Yet, this rock was split wide apart by lightening and electrical storms that are common in the area. It’s easy to imagine similar lightening bolts falling just a few kilometers away, and the damage they would do to a nuclear reactor. It would be a disaster of unimaginable proportions indeed.

Especially after Fukushima, the fear of accidents is very real and no amount of government assurances has convinced the activists that JNPP will be totally safe. The level of distrust towards the government is very high and palpable. Activists claim that the government contradicts its own reports and does not disclose ‘inconvenient’ information besides they feel the government is least concerned about the locals.

Rather than the government, Sakhri-nate fishers would rather believe their fellow fishers from another part of the state – Tarapur. They have travelled to nearby Tarapur which as the site for the first nuclear reactor to be built in India and they have seen what the nuclear power plants have done to the fishing catch. The fishing community at Tarapur is practically out of business due to the low catch and the enforced security ring around the plant which forces them to take long detours into the sea and which entails huge costs on diesel – not to mention the time spent.

At Tarapur, the locals were told 40 years ago that the Tarapur NPP was a matter of national pride. The local community and fishermen in that area gladly agreed to its construction, fully believing government assurances that the fish and environment would not be affected and that they would be adequately compensated. They have since been thoroughly betrayed and have warned their fellow fishers near Jaitapur to fight against JNPP – lest the same fate befalls them. The information received by the Sakhri-nate fishers from the Tarapur fishers is based on their bitter experiences and a shared understanding of the sea and the environment, both of which are integral parts of their lives and livelihoods. Who would you rather believe—the actual experience of your peers or the theoretical science of distrusted governments?

Ideas on development: worlds apart

The rift between the local community, dead-set against the NPP and the government, equally determined to build it, is not just about differing information and mistrust. There is a more fundamental difference in worldview between these two parties. While the government’s idea of ‘development’ focuses on achieving ambitious electricity generation, attracting foreign capital and making more and more ‘goods’ for an ever-expanding market, the fishers of Sakhri-nate have different ideas.

As one local explained “We are already developed. We don’t need anything more; we have full employment in the village. Even disabled or illiterate people have jobs, mending fishing nets etc. We have enough electricity; all we ask is that the government allows us to pursue our livelihoods. We have enough money to live well now, as fishing is a lucrative industry, but if we loose our livelihood, we will have nothing.”

Others said that if development was needed at all in their village, it should be in the form of increased educational facilities – including vocational schools – so that their children would get better employment opportunities – if they choose to. There are also calls for growth which minimizes environmental destruction and which compliments local industries such as food processing factories for the fish and mangoes, also produced in large quantities in the Jaitapur area. The already present ice factories, which provide ice to pack the fish so they can be sent to different parts of the country, are another obvious example of this type of development.

It would seem that the government has underestimated the level and type of knowledge and information that the local community has or even tried to understand their concerns – leave alone address them. This is not to mention the high income and living standards enjoyed by the fishermen who do not want this so called lop sided “development” at such high risks.

But most of all, the official model of development is being called into question: Why should large-scale industrial projects be encouraged, in this case a foreign-funded project that carries a risk of unimaginable destruction, and why should local communities be required to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods for lighting up city malls while the locals who are being affected by the project will still have only erratic power supply – just as is the case at Tarapur?

The secret talks in a nuclear village

The secret talks in a nuclear village - As overheard by Anuj Wankhede