Church leaders in Maharashtra have added their voice to a movement opposed to several proposed nuclear projects in the state, including what would be the largest nuclear power generating plant in the world. “We don’t want a Chernobyl nuclear disaster or Fukushima crisis to happen in India,” Bishop Alwyn Barreto of Sindhudurg told the Asian church news agency UCA News April 28. He said the diocesan center for social action organized meetings to educate people on the consequences a nuclear accident could have on the western coastal region. The Indian government has said it plans to introduce a bill in the next session of parliament to create an independent and autonomous nuclear regulatory authority before starting construction of the $10 billion, 9,900-megawatt, six reactor Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Madban village in Ratnagiri district. It is just one of several nuclear projects planned for a 120-mile-long strip along the Arabian Sea.
MUMBAI, India (CNS)