Kerala archbishop lends support to n-plant stir

Pakyam said the agitation was justified as it was safety and livelihood that was at risk

In a significant move,Archbishop Susai Pakyam of Thiruvananthapuram Catholic diocese Friday,the Good Friday,extended support to the fishermens agitation against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.

We are going ahead with nuclear plants when many nations have been abandoning them. Nobody knows what to do when a mishap happens. The hot water from the plant would destroy the fish wealth and thus affect the livelihood of fishermen. It was not justifiable on the part of the government to suppress the agitation, said the archbishop.

Pakyam said the agitation was justified as it was safety and livelihood that was at risk at Koodankulam. We are not against progress. But peoples life should not be at risk on account of progress, he added.

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The archbishop also urged the authorities to dispel apprehensions of the people about the project. The approach that let people die at the cost of development is like the approach of Pontius Pilatus who ordered Christs crucifixion,he said.

Last week,after the agitation at Idinthakarai near Koodankulam had lost some of its intensity,a group of activists from Kerala had met the archbishop and sought his support to the agitation. The Thiruvananthapuram dioceses support has come at a time when the diocese of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu is under pressure to keep away from the protest. Koodankulam is about 110 km from Thiruvananthapuram.

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