{"id":2932,"date":"2011-04-18T12:29:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T12:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/india\/?p=2932"},"modified":"2021-12-01T12:40:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T12:40:22","slug":"vigils-across-india-show-citizens-anxiety-over-nuclear-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/india\/en\/story\/2932\/vigils-across-india-show-citizens-anxiety-over-nuclear-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Vigils across India show citizens\u2019 anxiety over nuclear power"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demonstrations and vigils were held in eleven cities across India on April 11, the one month anniversary of Fukushima, to send a message of solidarity with the victims of the disaster, and to demand that world governments invest instead in safe and clean renewable energy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grace Boyle gives us an account of what happened in different cities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been over one month since the the earthquake and tsunami that first damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Japan, and the scale of radioactive contamination is only just beginning to emerge. \u00a0The disaster was upgraded to a level 7 on the\u00a0INES scale<\/a>\u00a0the same level as Chernobyl.<\/p>\n

The Fukushima disaster has been particularly alarming for Indian citizens, as their government pushes ahead to install the world\u2019s largest nuclear power plant on a seismically-active site in Jaitapur, Mahrashtra. Thousands of people gathered all over the country to show solidarity for those suffering in Japan and also remind the government at home that it needs to stay away from nuclear energy. \u00a0Here\u2019s a quick look at what happened in all these cities.<\/p>\n

Ahmedabad, Gujarat<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

A crowd of around 250 people turned out in the capital city of India\u2019s most westerly state, including large groups of students and teachers from Maharaja Agrasen Vidhyalay and Delhi Public School, Ahmedabad. \u00a0The local authorities allowed the protest to block the road for two hours, and had assigned ten traffic cops to assist the demonstrators. \u00a0Students marched with banners and chants, before holding a candlelit vigil in solidarity with the victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the frenzy the media were climbing onto the roof of a bus, trying to get the best pictures of the vigil,\u201d said Bipin Singh, a campaign supporter in Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n

The students also screened \u2018Miles to go,\u2019 a film which depicts the effects of radiation from the Chernobyl accident, and the similar effects being suffered by people living near the uranium mines in Jadugora, Jharkhand.<\/p>\n

The demonstration finished with a vote of thanks, and a serving of ice cream to the policemen who had helped.<\/p>\n

Panjim, Goa<\/h4>\n

The tiny state of Goa is very close to Jaitapur, the site proposed by the government for the world\u2019s largest nuclear power plant. The state\u2019s southern border is also just twenty-five kilometres from the Kaiga nuclear power plant in Karnataka, which has seen at least three accidents in its short lifetime, starting with the collapse of the containment dome when it was under construction. \u00a0For this reason, the protest in Panjim was particularly pertinent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of passers-by coming and asking us about the dangers of nuclear power, and what the concerns were with the Jaitapur nuclear power plant,\u201d said Shama Praveen Syed, a fundraiser in the Greenpeace Goa office. \u201cPeople are mainly worried that, if there were an accident at the plant, contamination could reach nearby places in the way it has in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Greenpeace outreach workers gave a short briefing to a varied audience that included engineers, doctors, professionals, housewives and print and television media. The attendees then lit candles spelling out the message \u2018No more Fukushima, Jaitapur, Kovvada.\u2019<\/p>\n

While the high-profile Jaitapur nuclear power plant has been the subject of contention in national media, citizens in Andhra Pradesh are also concerned about the nuclear power plant planned for Kovvada, in Srikakulam district of the state. Like the Jaitapur plant, the Kovvada nuclear reactors will use foreign technology, though the former will be supplied by AREVA of France, and the latter by US company General Electric.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard a lot from people debating about the roles individuals can play to try and create a safer world,\u201d said Sheetal Antony, a Greenpeace outreach officer in Hyderabad. \u00a0\u201cThis is what Greenpeace as an organisation works for, and what we all have a responsibility to fight for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kolkata, West Bengal<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do a walk rather than letting the vigil to be a static one,\u201d says Anirban Chakrabarti. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s election time here and the route was through where the Chief Minister goes back home everyday, but the traffic and civil police helped us. We interacted with lots of passersby on the way – many joined us, lit candles and walked along with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The march was executed with a lot of help from volunteer students. Two men even stripped off their shirts \u00a0and painted windmills and anti-nuclear power slogans on their chests to show their support for renewable energy. Students from Calcutta International School, who couldn\u2019t attend because they had exams, sent a clutch of handmade candles with \u2018No More Fukushima\u2019 written on them.<\/p>\n

New Delhi<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

The candlelit vigil in the capital illuminated India Gate, where tiny flickering flames spelled out the message of \u2018no nukes\u2019 in front of the national monument.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnna Hazare\u2019s peaceful protest has shown us what can be achieved if everyone stands together,\u201d wrote Greenpeace volunteer and activist Ali Abbas after the event. \u00a0\u201cNuclear energy threatens our life and the environment and is not a green energy solution.\u201d Read Ali\u2019s full\u00a0blog here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chennai, Tamil Nadu<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018Still want to build a reactor on an earthquake zone?\u2019 asked one volunteer\u2019s sign, referring to the government\u2019s selection of a seismically-active piece of land for construction of French nuclear technology.<\/p>\n

The Greenpeace team in Chennai held their vigil next to an exhibition of photographs of victims of the Chernobyl disaster, and sang along to the John Lennon song, \u2018Give Peace a Chance\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe volunteers lit up their candles and held them high, igniting in themselves and others who viewed them, a passion for change to safe, renewable energy,\u201d writes Rajkumar Dona Aideau, a volunteer with Greenpeace in Chennai.<\/p>\n

Patna, Bihar<\/h4>\n

A group gathered underneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Patna\u2019s central park, and marched with candles and banners to Kargil Chowk, a memorial site for those who lost their lives in the Kargil war. \u00a0As they walked, passers by joined them until their group swelled to a hundred, unified in their solidarity with the people of Japan and in their opposition to nuclear energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf technologically-advanced Japan had the misfortune of one of the worst nuclear tragedies known to man, how can our government be so sure that our nuclear establishments would be fine?\u201d asked Nagesh, a Greenpeace activist in Patna.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that the government should use such risky technology to generate electricity, especially when clean and safe renewable energy resources are available,\u201d agreed Imran, a student at Patna University who helped organise the march.<\/p>\n

As the vigil came to an end, a man unknown to the protesters came up and presented them with a seedling of \u2018Aparajita\u2019, a plant whose name means \u2018a power that cannot be defeated\u2019. \u00a0\u201cIt may have been a small incident to onlookers but we knew that it was more than that,\u201d says Faiyaz, a Greenpeace activist. \u00a0\u201cIt was the symbol of people\u2019s power, people\u2019s resolution to fight for cleaner and safer energy sources. A fight for a nuclear free India.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bangalore, Karnataka<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

One hundred people gathered underneath the graceful span of Bangalore\u2019s signature raintrees in Cubbon park, at dusk.\u00a0Against the backdrop of a giant globe painted with the anti-nuclear sign, senior anti-nuclear and environment activists – including Shankar Sharma, Major General (Dr) S.G. Vombatkere, scientist MV Ramanna and Ananth Hegde \u00a0of the Western Ghats Task Force – all spoke about the inherent dangers of nuclear power, the nuclear industry\u2019s uncompetitive economics and India\u2019s poor industrial safety record. \u00a0All combine to make nuclear power in India an expensive, dangerous and potentially deadly investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNuclear technology is inherently unsafe – Fukushima reiterates that,\u201d said Arundhati Muthu, climate campaigner with Greenpeace in Bangalore. \u00a0\u201cMaking it safer automatically means driving up the costs dramatically. India has the opportunity to make clean, safe and sustainable energy choices by choosing to go with energy efficiency measures and renewable energy options.\u201d Read a full account of the\u00a0evening here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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