Bharat Rakshak

This poll is set to run for 14 days and you are allowed to change your vote.

There are two headlines I see in news from India.

Scrap Kudankulam nuclear plant project:

Demanding that the Centre immediately scrap the Kudankulam Nuclear power project, activist Swami Agnivesh today demanded that a high-level panel should visit the KNPP site to address fears of locals there.

"I demand that the government scrap the plant and initiate an alternative source of clean energy. An independent panel, comprising national and international experts of credible records, should visit the site and a public hearing should be held," he told reporters after visiting KNPP in Tamil Nadu.
....
"Why has Russia given up on nuclear energy after the Chernobyl disaster and not a single plant has been set up? Why has Japan, a technologically advanced country, decided to dismantle all nuclear power plants in the near future after Fukushima?

"Why has Germany, another highly-industrialised country, decided to go non-nuclear for its energy requirements and dismantle their existing plants by 2020?," he asked to validate his point.

Agnivesh criticised former President A P J Abdul Kalam for giving a clean chit to KNPP and claimed that eminent geologists and nuclear scientists had told him that the project was not at all safe for an atomic plant.

He alleged that the Tamil Nadu government had not taken precautionary steps in Kudankulam area in the wake of the tsunami alert issued yesterday.

OTOH there is also:

Kudankulam one of safest reactors, Lanka's fears unfounded: India's nuclear chief

The chief of India's nuclear energy program, Dr Srikumar Banerjee, has said that Sri Lanka's fears over the nuclear plant in Kudankulam are unfounded. Mr Banerjee has also asserted that the plant, located in Tamil Nadu, has one of the world's safest reactors.

"There should be no concerns on safety. The safety analysis of the plant is complete. Kudankulam has one of the world's safest nuclear reactors," Mr Banerjee told NDTV. He added that "India has already inked an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convention that provides a frame work for addressing trans-boundary concerns if an accident happens. India's nuclear liability law also addresses these concerns." Mr Banerjee is the Chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission.

We also have had vigorous debates and have quoted everyone from Busby to Bhabha.

We have on one hand, very popular work like: Dooms Day Machine

On other hand, We are seeing Ads from NEI:Nuclear Energy: Cleaner, Safer and Made in America
(One can substitute India for America )

On one hand we have: Experts like Busby who are/were treated as hero *many many* times here in brf (see for example many many post(s) around here

-- give expert testimony -
How dangerous a typical accident was

OTOH we have other experts who tell us:
Ignorance about Nuclear Power is Killing Us

So, when all is said and done, what should be done?

My vote is "No. We should invest in nuclear Energy".

Voted No. We need every source of energy out there.

I voted YES; if the 'Dhaga' itself gives so much headache imagine the pain caused by the real thing.

I voted no but I think the buildings should be converted into a school and community center and the Uranium used for chemistry experiments. We can have a temple, mosque, church, gurudwara etc and different cooling water tanks for bathing and drinking for different communities and the three sexes, pul-ling, stree-ling and napunsak.

ib4tl

Voted No.
Russia, Japan and Germany are low population states who can afford to go Non-Nuclear and still provide power to its population. India does not have that choice. India must invest heavily in making the NPP safer.

NO

Those who are unable to vote, please post your login name and password here. I will vote for you. This is a community service I am offering.

Why can't we do all our work during the day, that way we won't have to use any electricity at all. Just think of the amount of money we will save! Without electricity, money, we won't have to begin with! Sounds like a win - win solution to me!

Oh, I voted NO.

If you give me 500 crores bribe I will vote yes. My local conversion priest advised me so.

The KKNPP protest is long since dead. All it needed to die was the promulgation of 144 in that area. Why is the poll now ?

^^^ I was also going to gauze the people's thinking about nuclear energy in general as it an important aspect for India's future energy needs.. and there is quite a bit of passionate debate. As my intro said there is quite a bit of diverse opinion... Kundankulam is/will not be the first or last of NPP

I voted No, we as a large country with large aspirations have to invest in Nuclear energy considering that we don't have substantial resources of other alternative fuels. Having said that, the drive to nuclear energy should intensify only after other available options ("low hanging fruits" for generating power, so to speak) are exhausted.

As someone who's lived for 18 years extremely close (I could see the plant's cooling towers from my house) to India's first nuclear power plant at Tarapur, I'd say keep the project on. An aging nuclear power plant like the one at Tarapur never had a leakage. The fears are unwarranted.

Amber Gji,

can you make your choices better pl? On the one side you mention...dangerous/evil/costly...but the other side you don't provide benefits.

angootha chhaaps like me would like to know those too before pressing angootha

What a poorly formulated poll proposition. Linking everything from the first atomic pile to a AHWR under catchword "Nuclear" and arbitrarily linking any and all issues at KKNP to simply "is nuclear good or bad".

I am afraid I have to say that this is a kindergarten level variety thought process. If not even simpler.

More complex formulations may continue to be discussed in the Indian nuclear thread (if people spare it of rhetoric and simple minded "Nuclear == nuclear == nuclear"

IB4TL.

A Senior BRFite told me about 11 hour power cuts in Madurai. Chennai itself has mandatory Power cut for 2 hours a day. My company spends huge amount on diesel everyday. We need every bit now. I voted NO

Sri wrote:A Senior BRFite told me about 11 hour power cuts in Madurai. Chennai itself has mandatory Power cut for 2 hours a day. My company spends huge amount on diesel everyday. We need every bit now. I voted NO

Trichy is even worse I heard from my nephew. Close to 14 hours of power cuts at specified times. He says its been many weeks since he has had a good night's sleep. Slept like a baby in our place every night for a week with the AC on.

Sanku maharaj come on vote YES; I am the only one who has . Next we will IB4TL the nuke dhaga too, yay.

I am in Hyderabad and stay in the heart of HITECH city. My residence is also very near to my work. There is 6-10 hour power cut daily. Only 2 hours is scheduled.
This is really unacceptable. We need NPP in every gully,nukkad and moholla.

negi wrote:Sanku maharaj come on vote YES; I am the only one who has . Next we will IB4TL the nuke dhaga too, yay.

As ordered negiullah !!

i voted no. Countries that are nuclear and going non-nuclear - can easily afford to do so. IMO, power cuts cause lots of damage NOW (lost income and hence continued poverty etc)

Said yes to no.

My vote was based only on current financial considerations.

Yes because my local Charity has given me 500 rs and free daroo

Aiyyo -ji! No no no. No no no no no.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a ... 601471.ece

Go Kalam, Go Nuclear!

I don't know where you guys are getting your facts from. I checked the back of an envelope and noticed that TN has power surplus.
And only TN can claim the 2000 MW power anyway - so I do not understand why some of you are glad this is coming online.

I dont care about the mallus , the goltis or the kannadigas - you guys can shove it....so what if you have power cuts- save power during the remaining 12 hours and use it sparingly.
If you want I will tell you what equipment and power rating you can use.

You guys better do as I say...or we will resort to violence.

How would Jesus vote in this scenario ? Then again I care for my country and my answer is No.

Here is a Rock...same sized Uranium is only heavier than this rock.
Now here is the Coal...this is even bigger in size than this rock.

Now, let's put them in water...see....did you see that?

Coal FLOATS...and the Rock sinks.

What do you think will happen when Tsunami comes? We are ALL going to sink.

YOU decide which is better.

SSridhar wrote:The KKNPP protest is long since dead. All it needed to die was the promulgation of 144 in that area. Why is the poll now ?

SSji - to add to what I said before, if you have noticed, both the top two stories were from yesterdays main papers from India. The issue, and the item about Sri-Lanka's protest, IMO, is not really dead.

As said before, whether we like it or not, India's energy issue is not going to go away and in a democracy it is right and duty of every citizen to be involved, get the best information one can get and actively (without violence) participate.

I votes YES. Yes I did - Thanks to Negi. OK I have my reasons..Hear me out.
It is too dangerous to build a nooklear power plant. If it was safe, why would Amreeka not build one in Amreeka ? Hain ji.
Chanikian-ness tells me that if we build nooklear power plant, MMS would be then free to to provide free 500MW of electricity to Pakistan and then we will fill up reams of pages on BRF without realizing the root cause of the offer. Too much of power available to the powerless PM.
If we build nooklear power plant, we wil become tools in the hands of world power as they will control and later blackmail us over the supply of U-232. Then we will have to follow them and would not be in a position to impose penalties on Pakistan that we almost did during Op-Parakaram.
Anyways our ancestors have lived without power and it won't kill us if we get power cuts of 10-12 hours everyday. Free sauna bath would help you cut some flab you see. Then no need to run for 10-12 KMs and run the risk of dogs chasing you.

PS: Those living in the land of Milk and Honey, Why don't you push "your govt" to build one near your home. Then we will talk.

I votes Yes , We need fusion reactor

No provison to build toilets with money saved. So didnt vote yet.

Of course, people have right to their opinions .. just adding some facts..

VikasRaina wrote: It is too dangerous to build a nooklear power plant. If it was safe, why would Amreeka not build one in Amreeka ? Hain ji.

True, US has not added new reactors but ..

Amereeka (US) has 104 nuclear power working at present providing almost 20% of its total energy. (These do not include research reactors) (For example see: wiki
)

US is the world's largest supplier of commercial nuclear power. (100+ GW)

Like India, US also has implacable safety record. Even including TMI (which after 30 years, dozens of studies from all kinds of agencies had ZERO effect on any health issues in US) there have been no deaths. (This translates into TENS of thousands of reactor years in US+India)

BTW per this poll, even after Fukushima, A survey conducted in September 2011, found that "62 percent of respondents said they favor the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States, with 35 percent opposed"

Of course, there is news posted in nuke dhaga about even new power plants now being built in US.

(US can easily afford not to built new nuclear power plants, or not to invest in fast neutrons, India, in my humble opinion, can not)

=

If we build nooklear power plant, we wil become tools in the hands of world power as they will control and later blackmail us over the supply of U-232.

No power on earth is going to dictate India what she can (or can not) do, only people of India can do that. Remember, sanctions were not able to stop India's progress.

... Why don't you push "your govt" to build one near your home. Then we will talk.

Many do, (ask people in Vogtle, for example ..As to me, I have visited nuclear reactors in India, and US without any qualms..(Many universities have research reactors) .. even taken family members or kid's friends for a tour.

(Added later: I am no expert on NPP's, or work for NPP, but as a physicist I have visited them, and or course, one does have nuclear physics labs where one gets familiar with reactors. Also some students of mine ended up working in related fields..)

ship everything in the plant to alang, sell it for scrap and buy gobar with the proceed. dip our anti-nuclear egg-spurts in said bovine product.

Amber G, I think VikasRaina was being sarcastic.

Rahul M wrote:ship everything in the plant to alang, sell it for scrap and buy gobar with the proceed. dip our anti-nuclear egg-spurts in said bovine product.

+400
Start with Udaykumar.

P.S.: Voted NO of course.

anshuljain wrote:As someone who's lived for 18 years extremely close (I could see the plant's cooling towers from my house) to India's first nuclear power plant at Tarapur, I'd say keep the project on. An aging nuclear power plant like the one at Tarapur never had a leakage. The fears are unwarranted.

Thanks for your perspective. Also welcome to BRF.

nachiket wrote:Amber G, I think VikasRaina was being sarcastic.

Thanks. (I suspected as such but no harm done as the info I posted, hopefully, would be useful )