Activists prevent entry of workers into Koodankulam plant for the second day

Tirunelveli: Anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant activists today prevented the entry of workers and scientists into the complex for the second consecutive day, police said. [caption id=“attachment_108393” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The agitators had stepped up the protest against the plant yesterday, staging a road block in front of the plant site. Screen grab from CNN-IBN”] [/caption] Though the agitators, who blocked the main gate for about an hour were removed by police, only a few workers managed to enter the complex. Four anti-KNPP activists were injured when they were forcibly removed by police from a pandal they had put up without permission near the main pandal. The second phase of the indefinite fast of anti-nuclear activists entered the sixth day today. The activists decided to intensify the agitation in protest against the police action and also against the plant. More than 3,000 protesters sat in support of 100 people on indefinite fast, demanding scrapping of the plant. The agitators had stepped up the protest against the plant yesterday, staging a road block in front of the plant site, preventing entry of workers and scientists into the complex. The protest hitherto confined to fast had taken a new turn even as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa yesterday assured local people that their sentiments would be respected. Jayalalithaa’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to her cautioning that Tamil Nadu’s development would be hit in the absence of power from the Indo-Russian nuclear project. PTI