Senior citizens oppose Bhavnagar atomic power project

Bhupat Parekh,a retired executive engineer of the Irrigation Department,said that others had no time to protest,“so we took the lead and convened a gathering of farmers dominated by women and youth”.

He added: “This project may be good,but who will make up for the lost means of livelihood of nearly 5,000 farmers who own lush green orchards here? Nearly 25 kilometres from here is Alang Ship Breaking Yard,so where would be the greenery?”

He further said that for the last three years,they have been distributing pamphlets to oppose this move. “Where would they dump the waste? It is going to be here,at Mithi Virdi.”

Arun Dave,director of Lok Bharti Gram Vidyapeeth near Bhavnagar,also expressed reservations about the proposed plant.

“If the government is so much in love with this project,why don’t they build it at their headquarters? Why do they want our land? Who would give the guarantee of zero radiation?” he said.

While District Collector D G Jhalawadia refused to comment,Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki,who has made several announcements about nuclear power projects,said his ministry could do nothing about it.

“It is related to nuclear energy. The government has just selected the site,this doesn’t mean we have earmarked the exact area or measured it,” he added.