New Delhi: Several organisations on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to "rethink radically" on nuclear energy and stop Kudankulam project immediately as locals intensified their protest and tried to lay seige at the site.
The organisations under the ageis of Medha Patkar-led National Alliance of Peoples` Movement (NAPM) also submitted a memoranudum to National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women and the CM seeking their intervention in stopping the police action against protesters.
Earlier in the day, police lobbed teargas shells to disperse over 1,000 anti-nuclear protesters, who again tried to lay siege to the nuclear power plant demanding a halt to the loading of enriched uranium in the reactor.
A group of activists also staged a demonstration near Tamil Nadu Bhavan here expressing solidarity with the protesters in Kudankulam.
"The present situation in Idintakarai and surrounding villages is heart rending, as thousands of people are compelled to lock their houses and move closer to the nuclear plant to express their resolve to obstruct the loading of fuel," a statement said.
The statement was signed by Patkar, Dr Sunilam, Akhil Gogoi, Geo Jose, Rajendra Ravi and Madhuresh Kumar among others.
Condemning the police action, it said people are determined to avoid violence but they are not afraid of the police, because their "pre-occupation is with the impending nuclear radiation and the protection of their livelihood."
"We appeal to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to rethink radically on nuclear energy and to stop the project immediately. We appeal to all citizens of good will to widely support the struggle against nuclear energy and to develop and propagate sustainable alternatives," it said.
The organisations also appealed to the state government to withdraw all cases against protesters, especially charges of sedition.
PTI
