18 March,2011 09:45 AM IST | | Arindam Chaudhuri
I have heard that in African countries, as hunters find it tough to catch monkeys, they place a jar full of nuts with a small opening near the trees. That jar is so designed that it allows a monkey's hand to slip inside, but difficult to take it out. Most of the time, the monkey stays there, unwilling to let go of the nuts. This is what brings me to the point I want to write on. India's penchant for acquiring nuclear energy is quite similar, wherein we have no idea where it is going to lead us to. And unfortunately, right now we are unable to see beyond the nut!
The recent rending natural and nuclear disaster in Japan speaks volumes of how fragile nuclear plantsu00a0 are and how dangerous such leakages can be. Any case of nuclear meltdown would cause leakage of radiations which not only can lead to a high death toll and permanent physical and mental disorders but in the long run can make the vicinity uninhabitable for tens of decades.
India, which is blindly following a dream of going the nuclear way, is largely ignoring the threats that these reactors possess. The Three Mile and Chernobyl disasters during the 80s are testimonies to catastrophes that can be caused by such plants. And this isn't something new for India. In August 2010, the Journal of Contemporary Asia reported that between 1993 and 1995, more than 120 hazardous nuclear accidents took place in India.
Then there are protests which are already being organised in Jaitapur in Maharashtra after adverse effect of nuclear plants were seen on the ecology. Even if one ignores the Jaitapur protests, what comes as a surprise is how our government seems to have forgotten the biggest disaster of all time in Indian history. People have not even come out of the Bhopal Gas tragedy and mind you, there was nothing nuclear in that disaster!
God forbid, but if a Japan-like disaster occurs in our nation, with no earthquake-resistant buildings and no public awareness on such issues, it will wipe out a major pie of our population leaving behind equal numbers of Indians crippled and physically and mentally handicapped.
Rather than going gung-ho over nuclear power, we should tap our renewable sources of energy like solar, hydro and thorium.u00a0 Given the fact that India is blessed with ample sunlight round the year, we can bank on solar power plants. It would not be just economical, safe and green but would also reduce chances of future irreversible damages in case any disaster becomes an unfortunate reality.
