Please Write to Putin Immediately: No Deal On Haripur Nuclear Plant
The Russian Minister Vladmir Putin will be visiting India on Thursday, 11th March 2010 and Friday 12th March 2010. High on his agenda is the signing of deals on nuclear energy with India.
For the people of Haripur in West Bengal, Vladmir Putin's signature could be cataclysmic. News reports have since December 2009 been declaring that one of the deals involves the setting up of a nuclear park at Haripur with Russian cooperation. About 26 villages around Haripur are scheduled to lose their land in the process- land that is rich in produce, making Haripur and its surroundng villages the exporter of rice, cocunuts, vegetables, betel leaf etc.
An even greater impact is likely to be there on the surrounding areas. Fish workers are concerned that that the discharge of hot water by the proposed nuclear plant will cause a huge fall in fish yields along the whole coastline, effecting the Orissa coast as well as the ecologically sensitive Sunderbans area.
Haripur is also home to over 400 fish drying factories (called Khuti locally), each of which employ 7-10 workers. This area is also one of the largest producers of sun dried sea salt Within the 35 km buffer zone of the nuclear plant falls the Contai town with a population of over 70,000, who will definitely be hit in case of the most minor leakage or accident.
Setting up a nuclear plant in a heavily populated area, with a flourishing agriculture and fishing industry is one more senseless plan of the Government. It is only by the combined opposition of all concerned people that we can actually stop the plant from being built there.
As a token of your support to the Haripur people who are already in the struggle to protect their lives and livelihoods and who have already written to the two Prime Ministers, please write /fax to the Russian Embassy today appealing for Prime Minister Putin to not sign such an agreement. Please also send a similar letter to the Prime Minister of India.
Addresses on which you can write:-
| Address: | Embassy of the Russian Federation, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri. New Delhi, 110021, India |
| Fax: | +9111 2687-6823, 2410-3961 |
| E-mail: | indrusem@del2.vsnl.net.in (embassy), indconru@del2.vsnl.net.in (consular department), rusintrd@ndb.vsnl.net.in (trade department), rusintrd@del2.vsnl.net.in (trade department) |
For our Prime Minister, please go to http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm and write there. A sample letter is given below. Please feel free to change and write in any manner that you want to.
Please also ask your friends to also write immediately.
Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity
Sample Letter
To Shri Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India,
7, Race Course Road,
New Delhi, India
To Shri Vladmir Putin,
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation,
c/o Embassy of the Russian Federation,
Shantipath, Chanakyapuri.
New Delhi, 110021, India
Dear Sir,
The residents of Haripur and its surrounding areas have been protesting against the Government of India's plans to set up a nuclear plant at Haripur- Junput since this plan was first mooted in 2006. Haripur has a flourishing agriculture and a rich fishing industry, both of which will be hurt irreparably by any such plan. The acquisition of land for a nuclear plant will affect at least 26 villages, where not only will people lose their land, they will also lose their livelihoods, their homes and their entire way of life.
The impact will not however be limited to only these villages. The choice of Haripur for a nuclear plant is particularly worrying, because it is in a heavily populated area, including the 70,000 strong Contai town. Even the smallest accident with even minor releases of radioactivity would cause catastrophic damage to the surrounding population,. Further, discharge of heated water from the plant into the sea nearby is likely to affect fish yields along the coast line from Orissa to the ecologically sensitive Sunderbans, affecting the livelihood of millions of fish workers.
We have heard from newspaper reports that the Governments of the Russian Federation and India plan today to sign an agreement to set up a nuclear park in Haripur. We appeal to you to immediately withdraw all plans for a nuclear park at Haripur and refrain from signing any such agreement.
Yours sincerely
(name)
(organisation's name)
--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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