SRIKAKULAM: Key members of the Andhra Intellectuals Forum, including founder president Chalasani Srinivas and president Professor G. Appalanaidu, along with CPI district executive member Chapara Sundaralal, CPM district secretary D. Govindarao, and Congress district president Sanapala Annajirao, have called for the cancellation of the proposed Kovvada Nuclear Park project in Srikakulam district.

During a press conference held in Srikakulam, they highlighted that the nuclear facility, initially slated for Mithivirdi in Gujarat, was relocated to Kovvada due to resistance from the local population in Gujarat. They urged Prime Minister Modi to reconsider and establish the plant in Gujarat instead. The group expressed that even minor incidents resulting from natural calamities, human mistakes, or equipment failures could have catastrophic consequences for the area stretching from Kakinada to Chatrapur in Odisha, endangering lives and polluting essential resources.

They warned that radiation emitted from the nuclear facility could contaminate soil, air, water, and food supplies, potentially leading to cancer and other severe health issues, along with birth defects in children.

Furthermore, they criticized the decision to situate a nuclear facility in densely populated Kovvada, which would also result in the loss of fertile agricultural land.

The local leaders pointed out that advanced countries such as the USA, Germany, and Japan are moving away from nuclear energy, shutting down their nuclear plants.

They recalled that following the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, the USA halted the construction of new nuclear facilities, while the catastrophic Chernobyl disaster in 1986 rendered areas around it uninhabitable.