Chennai, Oct 23 (IANS): The relay fast against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu entered the sixth day Sunday, with more and more people from nearby villages joining the protest.
About 1,500 villagers from Idinthakarai, Kudankulam and Avudaialpuram in Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district are on fast demanding the closure of the nuclear power project, activist S. Sivasubramanian told IANS.
In Aatur area in Tuticorin district, around 1,000 people are on fast. Similarly, in Radhapuram area of Tirunelveli, some 30 people are on fast, Sivasubramanian of the People's Rights Movement said.
India's nuclear power plant operator Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) is constructing two 1,000 MW nuclear power reactors with Russian technology and equipment in Kudankulam, around 650 km from here.
The first unit is expected to go on stream in December. The whole project cost is estimated around Rs.13,000 crore.
Villagers are up against the power plant fearing a nuclear accident and its long term impact on the population.