Tamil Nadu's anti-nuclear stir all set to spread to Andhra Pradesh, civil society plans agitations in February-March

By A Representative
Anti-nuclear protests against the proposed Kovvada nuclear plant in Andhra Pradesh are all set to acquire a new momentum in South India following the decision of the local people to join hand with national-level activists of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), National Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movement (NAAM), Human Rights Forum and Sanjeevini Paryavarana Seva Sangham.
Indications emerged following a meeting with local people that agitations would engulf Srikakulam district, where the project is proposed, on the lines of the one organized against the the Kudankulam project in Tamil Nadu. The word has gone around that in case of an accident it is not just the Kovvada village would be affected, but also other neighbouring areas.
An action plan, in coordination with civil society organizations and trade unions, was worked out, with plans for a series of protests in February and March. Kumar Sundaram of NMANE said following the civil society meeting that the “unsafe, uneconomic, eco-destructive” project was being set up set in “brazen contempt for the democratic rights and livelihoods of the local communities.”
The Andhra Pradesh government wants to turn Nellore and Srikakulam districts in the state into a nuclear hub as part of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) plan to generate over 60,000 MW of nuclear power across the country.
In Kovvada alone, around 2,400 acres of land is slated to be acquired for the proposed 6000 MW nuclear power plant. Tipped to be India’s biggest, the atomic power plant will have six reactors each with a capacity of 1000 MW each. The construction work for the project would start in 2018 and production would begin by 2024.
As of today, the total installed capacity of atomic power in India has not crossed 5,000 MW in the last 50 years.
Sundaram said, “The US and other western countries are waiting to dump their technology in the country. People should fight against tapping atomic power as many countries, including Sweden and Vietnam, have decided not to depend on atomic power.”
He added, “Shockingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with US president Barrack Obama in January 2015, effectively gave away Indian people’s right to sue the nuclear suppliers in case of accident, which will be much more devastating than Fukushima. And still the BJP and its government talks of being nationalists, brandinganti-nuclear and environmental activists anti-national.”
He was referring to as many as 2,500 fisherfolk of Idinthakarai village, including women, elderly and adolescent, facing sedition charges since 2012 for peacefully opposing the Koodankulam nuclear plant in their vicinity.
Centre for Indian Trade Unions' Andhra Pradesh president Ch Narasinga Rao said, NPCIL is yet to obtain site clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for the Kovvada project, while senior CPM leader B Krishna Murthy added, the nuclear power plant poses a threat to the entire North Andhra region, as it will be established in an earthquake-prone zone.
Sanjeevini Paryavarana Seva Sangham convener K Ramam said that the project would lead to heavy financial burden as the State government would be forced to buy atomic power at Rs 10 per unit when solar power was available at Rs 3 per unit in the country.
With plans to acquire around 2,400 acres of land for the construction of the project, about 1,500 families of various villages such as China Kovvada, Peda Kovvada, Tekkali and Ramachandrapuram face displacement.

Comments

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Environmental expert urges policy overhaul as forest and water resources face critical decline

By A Representative On the occasion of World Forest Day and World Water Day , observed on March 21 and 22, environmental voices from the Western Ghats have issued a stark warning to the Union government, calling for an urgent paradigm shift in how India manages its interconnected natural resources. In a formal communication addressed to Union Minister for Jal Shakti , Sri C R Patil , and Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change , Sri Bhupendra Yadav , policy analyst Shankar Sharma has highlighted a growing disconnect between sectoral policies and the holistic reality of resource governance.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

A 366-metre gap, a million commuters affected: Kolkata metro delay hurts public interest

By Atanu Roy* Compromising the interests of ordinary people, the authorities concerned in West Bengal appear to be playing with the timeline of the Kolkata Metro’s Orange Line project , turning what should have been a transformative public transport corridor into a prolonged ordeal for commuters.

Search This Blog