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Tension returned around Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, as police fired teargas shells to disperse protesters demanding halt to loading of enriched uranium in the reactors.
The Madras High Court on August 31 had given a go ahead to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), the project proponent to load fuel in the plant.
Around 1,000 protestors from the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy laid siege to the plant again on September 9. They demanded the intervention of Chief Minister J Jayalalitha to stop loading of fuel in the reactor.
According to reports, the police brought in more force when protestors did not budge even after repeated requests made by district officials to end the strike. The police fired teargas shells when some of the protestors breached the tight security and tried to enter the plant. A few protestors jumped into the sea to avoid police beating.
The commissioning of the two 1,000 MW units of KNPP, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has been delayed since December last year due to the protests.
Earlier, in March this year, tension had mounted around the plant after the state government cleared the project.