11:45 am: Protestors seek intervention of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
Protestors are hoping for the intervention of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
We are hoping that Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will hear our voice, an activist told CNN IBN.
While head of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) SP Udayakumar's whereabouts are still not known, the activist said he will not be present at the protest.
The majority of the protestors seem to be women and children. The protest is expected to continue till this evening and activists say that they will continue until the state government responds to their demands.
11:30 am: Hundreds standing in sea near Kudankulam nuclear plant
Hundreds of protestors are not heeding the orders of the authorities and have waded into the sea at Kudankulam.
Mostly women and children waded into the sea in waist deep water and were seen braving the waves and heat in a unique imitation of the protests in Madhya Pradesh.
The Coast Guard is carrying out sorties to ensure the protestors aren't swept away because unlike Madhya Pradesh, the protestors will have to brave currents and waves as they protest.
Despite the police initially warning the protestors not to go into the sea, there has been no action taken to prevent them from doing so.
11:00 am Taking a cue from the 'Jal Satyagraha' activists in Madhya Pradesh, opponents of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant have decided to stand in the sea off Idianthakarai coast today as a stepped-up form of agitation.
Sources in People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is spearheading the stir, said the agitators have put forward four demands - stoppage of the process of fuel-loading in KNPP, giving up of the plan to arrest anti-nuclear movement leaders, adequate compensation for those who suffered losses and release of those already taken into custody.
Thanks to the dramatic scenes of protest at Kudankulam, whose intensity has risen in the past few days after the Madras High court refused to stop the loading of fuel in the plant, the debate about about the issue has become an increasingly polarised one and unless lessons are learnt, the nuclear power industry in India only risks facing similar problems elsewhere.
Kudankulam isn't the only nuclear power plant facing problems in the country. The Maharashtra government, which is all for the creation of a massive nuclear plant in Jaitapur, has been facing protests from political rival Shiv Sena and local NGOs that have remained adamant about not letting it function.
The grounds of protest against the 9,800 MW plant in Maharashtra are somewhat similar to those being echoed in Tamil Nadu. The protestors argue that the plant will damage local ecology, their consent for the plant wasn't sought and also speak of the obvious fear of how a potential accident at the plant could affect them. While the issue is currently not in the headlines anymore, the agitators in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra are no doubt closely following the developments in Kudankulam.
The turn of events near the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, when a protest march by the anti-nuclear activists and local villagers ended up in a mayhem that killed one person and injured several others, is significant in more ways than one.
First, it betrays the inherent contradictions of a peaceful Gandhian movement that the anti-Kudankulam agitation claims itself to be; second, it also signals the end stage of a protracted game that will culminate in KKNPP (Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant) connecting to the grid and the agitation turning into a chronic headache for the authorities and a magnet for itinerant activists.
The most significant of the two is the sudden change in the complexion of the agitation by PMANE (People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy), the struggle committee and the villagers. So far, they appeared to be tolerant, despite their hardline Gandhian approach; but on Monday, reports and images from the field show that they did resort to non-peaceful methods.
A 4000-strong group of people moving towards a huge commission-ready nuclear power plant, however peaceful, is a certain law-and-order situation for the police and other security forces. There is nothing peaceful about a very large group of people marching towards such a sensitive facility. One erring on the right side of caution cannot dismiss police claims that the protestors were planning to attack the KKNPP whether it is true or not.
They had to be stopped and when they were stopped, there was mayhem.
Added to this, were the amphibian techniques that the protestors planned and executed. Reportedly they opened fronts both on land and at sea creating considerable confusion and operational difficulty for the police. That the plant could be accessed from the sea could certainly add to the concerns of the security forces.
Monday's protest also had the hallmarks of the radicalism that many of the people's movements in India show, such as giving no space for negotiations; fielding women, children and the old at the frontline, and resorting to homegrown techniques of stalemating the authorities and security forces that could lead to police excesses.
Chennai: Thousands of villagers, including women and children living near the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) Sunday made the Kudankulam beach behind the upcoming power plant their protest venue braving chilly winds, rough sea, shortage of drinking water and food, said a leading activist.
The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) that is spearheading the anti-KNPP movement for more than a year has decided to take its fight against the Rs 17,120 crore project near the plant itself away from Idinthakarai village near Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district around 650 km from here.
India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW reactors with Russian equipments since 2001.
Anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant protesters, led by activist SP Udayakumar, have laid siege to the port at Tuticorin demanding the closure of the plant.The renewed agitation is because fuel loading in the first reactor of the Kudankulam plant has already begun.The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board had given its final clearance for loading fuel on Tuesday night.
Nearly five hundred fishing boats have reached the Tuticorin harbour, which is situated around 60 miles away from the nuclear power plant, an NDTV report said.
SP Udayakumar had announced the agitation plan two days ago after holding a discussion with community leaders of coastal hamlets in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram.
Meanwhile, Shipping minister GK Vasan had on Friday urged the anti-nuclear plant activists at Kudankulam to desist from stalling activity at the VOC Port (formerly Tuticorin port).
11.26am: The anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam have spread to Chennai, with protestors attacking a city bus on Mount Road in the city. The crowds had been protesting what they have called excessive police action against villagers at Idinthakari near the Kudankulam nuclear power plant yesterday. Police lobbed tear gas shells and baton charged the villagers who were refusing to leave their protest site. One fisherman was killed in the chaos.
Meanwhile in Kudankulam, an uneasy calm prevailed with police tightening their vigil as anti-nuclear protesters continued with their relay fast. Police said the situation was calm but they were keeping a strict vigil. Security has been stepped up, sources said.
