25 Sep, 2011, 02.40AM IST, Joe A ScariaJoe A Scaria,ET Bureau

Kudankulam Question: Is blueprint for India's nuclear plans face divide between government and ‘people’s movements’?

Residents of Kudankulam may have to go back to impoverished days if the nuclear plant (above) is not commissionedIndinthakarai village in Tamil Nadu, bordering Kanyakumari, is some 2,400 km away from the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, where Anna Hazare undertook his fast. But it was the Anna formula at work here. Work on the Kudankulam nuclear power plant has been halted temporarily, after a 12-day fast by the villagers - Anna's fast lasted for the same number of days.

Kudankulam, if construction is finished, will most likely be the newest nuclear plant in the world. But will it be constructed?

The question assumes importance given that another upcoming nuclear plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra too faces a storm of protests by locals. A common thread running through both protests is concerns over safety, though people in Jaitapur are also opposing land acquisition.

Kudankulam and Jaitapur put a question mark on the future of nuclear plants in the country. They also raise questions on how the political class will react to what supporters of nuclear plants say is a progressive idea.

For answers, let us first look at how events unfolded in Kudankulam.

The two imposing domes of the nuclear power project of 1,000 mw each have been in the making for years. The protests are about as old. The villagers wonder why their village should be home to a nuclear power plant that puts restrictions on fishing.

Led by local leaders and religious heads, 127 of the villagers drawn from the neighbouring villages, 26 of them women, went on a hunger strike. Soon, thousands of villagers began to stream in from neighbouring districts of Kanyakumari, Nagercoil and Tirunelveli to offer moral support.

The results were quick as they were dramatic. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa, basking in her recent landslide victory in the assembly poll, had been dismissive of the villagers until just a week ago. She had even asked the villagers to call off the strike because "the nuke plant had all the safety precautions". She changed tack overnight. She wrote to the PM to "assuage the feelings of the villagers".

Given that the local body elections in the state are scheduled for October, it is safe to say political compulsions forced the government's hand. The state cabinet resolved to ask the Centre to call a temporary halt to the project.

In front of the 106-year-old Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Idinthakarai where thousands had gathered to support those on hunger strike, the cabinet decision was greeted with wild cheers, and a reiteration that only the battle was won and that the war would go on.

"We are only calling off the hunger strike. We are not going to go home in a hurry on this issue. The protests will continue until the authorities agree to scrap the nuclear power plant in our village," says SP Udayakumar, coordinator of the People's Movement against Nuclear Power.