Once upon a time in Kudankulam | ||||
As the protest against the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu gathers steam, Velly Thevar meets the villagers who still yearn for the days when they tilled their lush land and lived without the threat of a nuclear mishap at their doorstep | ||||
The swaying cotton fields spelt good news. When the cotton was plucked and finally weighed on the scales, farmer V. Rajalingam remembers jumping with joy. "Cotton gave us sustenance. There used to be so much cotton that entire households lived off it," he says. There are no cotton fields in Kudankulam today. Instead, there's a nuclear plant, around which villagers have been mounting protests. And 67-year-old Rajalingam, whose land was taken away when it came up in the 1990s, has tears in his eyes when he recalls those days. Kudankulam has been in the news for several weeks now because of the ongoing protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Project (KKNPP). The plant was supposed to have started functioning this December, but its launch has now been postponed. It is difficult to define Kudankulam, a village tucked away in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district. It's not quite a village, or a town. It's not a seaside village, or a fishermen's colony, though many of its residents trawl the seas — some three kilometres away — for their livelihood. Once upon a time, long before the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) — KKNPP's parent company — came into their lives and changed their destinies, they were all farmers. The 2.800 acres of land where the NPCIL has constructed the KKNPP was where the men and women worked through the day. The land, called moorambu or thekkadu, was lush. Huge tamarind trees and date palms serenaded the villagers as they toiled in their cotton farms. Because of the shade of the trees, moorambu land is different from other arable lands. But the villagers stress that it was just right for growing cotton and grains. Rajalingam was among those who tended the fields. Decades later, he — along with many others residents of Kudankulam — is now a statistic in police records. "I don't even know whether I have 16 or 20 cases against me," he says with a laugh. The police started hounding villagers when the protest movement against the KKNPP began in 2007 — slapping numerous cases against them, mostly relating to disturbing the peace. Of late, the movement against the plant — which villagers say took away their land and may harm them fatally in the event of a mishap — has been gathering steam. The women of Kudankulam have not just joined the protests but are leading them as well. They organise sit-ins near the gate of the plant, and try and stop work from being carried out at the plant. The protest has changed its tone over the years. The older villagers who gave away their land to KKNPP — mostly at very low rates, they say — were intimidated by the big babus. Their offspring, having seen land movements elsewhere, are more militant. They are also more educated than their parents. Kudankulam has two government-aided Tamil medium higher secondary schools, one run by the Roman Catholics and the other by the Church of South India or Protestants, and an English medium school run by the Pentecostal sect. The new generation includes engineers and doctors, and a horde of youngsters who have access to the Internet in cyber cafés, and know of controversies revolving around nuclear energy and the threats to safety. "I do not want to be a part of a project that would sound the death knell for our children and grandchildren," says villager James (he uses only one name) — a former employee at KKNPP and now a leading protestor. Their parents, they stress, gave away their land without questioning the NPCIL. The compensation was meagre, and many didn't even get that because their land deeds were not in their own names. They had hoped for jobs, but finally only 36 men from Kudankulam were employed at the plant. The villagers complain that they had been promised Kudankulam would turn into a developed spot, but little has changed over the years. They still do not have access to fresh water. So Kudankulam has joined the protest — which the villagers had ironically steered clear of when the plant was coming up, wooed by the vision of development. That was when protests were brewing in Idinthikarai, a seaside village of fisherfolk, just one-and-a-half kilometres away from Kudankulam. Idinthikarai means a broken shore. Legend has it that Lord Murugan — the reigning deity of Tamil Nadu — was passing by Idinthikarai with his wife Valli when dawn broke over the shore. The place was called Vidhinthikarai, which means where the dawn came when the Lord passed by. But over the years the name changed to Idinthikarai. After all, the shore seems unnaturally cut off from the land, almost as if it had been sawed off. The villagers believe the project will affect their livelihoods, as they fear that the sea where they fish will be contaminated. They point out that they have already lost the plump lobsters which used to breed at the spot where the KKNPP reactors were built. "We used to export those lobsters. Huge ones," recalls Joe Glady who works in the shipping industry. The sea is a big draw in the village. Those who don't fish, travel — mostly as mariners in the merchant navy. The village of 13,000 people is predominantly Roman Catholic. But the minority Hindus are as much a part of the protest as the Christians. As if to testify that, an Our Lady of Lourdes church stands facing a Ganesha temple. The church has been drawn into the protests. Parish priests have allowed the use of the church premises where a tent has been put up for a relay hunger strike that protestors have been conducting. For the villagers, the sea is their lifeline. At 8 in the morning, fishermen come home tired after a night out in the sea. Every fisherman carries a fish in his hand — for the family's lunch that day. "The people of Idinthikarai cannot do without fish — even for a day," laughs Raj Leon, one of the residents. In March this year, when an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the villagers sat glued to their television sets — a pre-election gift from then Tamil Nadu chief minister K. Karunanidhi. Every house in Idinthikarai lived the horror of the nuclear accident that followed at Fukushima. Last week, after 45 days of hunger strikes and morchas, the fishermen finally ventured out into the sea. Fibre glass boats have long replaced the catamarans. But the future, the fishermen of Idinthikarai believe, is uncertain. At the sea at Idinthikarai, huge stones form a protruding jetty. If you step on each stone, you feel as if you are standing in the middle of the sea. The stones were placed there by the Tamil Nadu government after the 2004 tsunami which hit the Indian coast. At one end you can see the sawed-off shore of Idinthikarai. If you look the other way, you see the two domes of the nuclear plant rearing up near the shore — symbols of Idinthikarai and Kudankulam's future of discontent. |
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Once upon a time in Kudankulam As the protest against the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu gathers steam, Velly Thevar meets the villagers who still yearn for the days when they tilled their lush land and lived without the threat of a nuclear m
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111113/jsp/7days/story_14742707.jsp
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Followers
Blog Archive
-
▼
2011
(8499)
-
▼
November
(1134)
- रीटेल एफ डी आई से कारोबार पर विदेशी पूंजी काबिज और...
- ‘MINDCONTROL’ AND ELECTRONIC WEAPONS - VICTIMS' OR...
- Welcome to the world of corporate psychopaths
- Financial 'vultures' poised to swoop on Africa thr...
- MEDVEDEV: RUSSIA SERVES NOTICE November 28, 2011 B...
- Nepal Updates
- Statement Condemning Repression Against Anti POSCO...
- he GOP’s Middle Class Tax Increase
- F-22s Gobble Up More Billions
- Adivasi Bounded Labour Killed,No Justice yet.-Than...
- US war against Pakistan?
- PIL to Register FIR Against Mukesh Ambani, RIL
- The lawsuit that could end the gangster rule of We...
- Throw These Cooking Oils in the Trash
- Retail FDI: The Calculations and Compulsions..
- Manual scavengers poster -READ
- Irula Tribe women sexualy abused by Police - Tiruk...
- Sr. Valsa case with the National Commission for Women
- Oh The aggressors! Oh The killers of the Innocent ...
- MY AUSTRIA VISIT AND PROJECT OF HOPE Asghar Ali En...
- Fwd: BAMCEF & RMS 28TH N.C. 24TH TO 28TH DEC 2011,...
- Fwd: [OrissaConcerns] Statement on the Repression ...
- Fwd: declare aadhaar illegal, pleads suit - bangal...
- Fwd: [bangla-vision] FD News and an important action
- Fwd: हस्तक्षेप.कॉम चल अन्ना घर आपने रेन भई यह देश…
- Fwd: Tom Burghardt: Target Iran - Washington's Cou...
- Fwd: Kanimozhee bhee Kaanee ho Gayee!
- Fwd: Truth behind the appeal to Hindus - One secon...
- Fwd: (Desiyatra)-- Sharad slap unites Indian polit...
- Fwd: Today's Exclusives - Controversial stock oper...
- In Tamil Nadu’s southern districts, prisoners are ...
- Fishy Friends By Nigar Ataulla
- Rapid Haramikaran Of India - Growth Rate Food 2%, ...
- Dalit labourer dies, nephew alleges he was beaten
- Water politics in the Jordan River basin
- Dr. Bhupen Hazarika honoured in London - 1999
- declare aadhaar illegal, pleads suit - bangalore, ...
- DGP Mr. BR Lall – Crusader Against ‘Black Money’ N...
- The glimpses of Post FDI in retail
- Anand Sharma writes to parties clarifying FDI stance
- The Miqati Government in Lebanon – Continued Subju...
- Miami-protest spokesman led 'Nuke Israel' rally
- Why not open debate on Holocaust?+Capitalism under...
- Discussion on Karnataka Guarantee of Services to C...
- Statue of Liberty – an Egyptian Peasant Lady?
- Moroccan opposition warns of silent majority
- De Jager talks tough as he heads to Berlin for tal...
- Debt Crisis Belgium under the tutelage of Brussels?
- Eurobond talk should not be 'taboo', Monti tells V...
- Will Global Financial Demolition Lead To New World...
- Would uranium sales to India breach a key Labor tr...
- Fwd: [Occupy Kolkata] i know casteism in india is ...
- Fwd: [Marxistindia] CPI(M) Supports Traders Call f...
- Fwd: Julie Lévesque: Protest in Syria: Media Lies ...
- Fwd: [Occupy Delhi] IN 1886-94, DURING THE SANTHAL...
- Fwd: [Occupy Delhi] PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC STUDENT...
- Bangladesh: International anti-imperialism conference
- 5,000,000 North East Indian Migrations Expected in...
- Prosecutor: Reagan, Bush not criminally liable
- LIVING IN GERMANY
- Occupy Everywhere: Michael Moore, Naomi Klein on N...
- The People's Surveillance State
- Washington's $8 Billion Shadow
- Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here? ...a p...
- Israel's technology or its politics that the minis...
- Targeted Individual due for execution unless we dr...
- FDI in Retail for 99% Indians – Vendors, Farmers, ...
- HUNDREDS RALLY IN MUZAFFARABAD AGAINST MFN STATUS ...
- KSA: Thousands in Eastern Province Chant Death to ...
- LIBYA: Thousands accused of Gaddafi links held by ...
- RSS A pure religion- LIKE SIKHS/Jaina/ BUDHA/= wit...
- Dead Man Talking: More Fake Encounters in Gujarat
- 21st Greatest Sikh Traitor Parkash Chand Badal ina...
- Up to 25 Pak soldiers dead in NATO chopper attack
- Abhay Sahu, leader of anti-POSCO movement arrested
- login immediately Meshram saheb speaking
- Nuclear emergency in Japan: lessons for India
- DRUM- Desis Rising Up & Moving
- World's Largest and Longest Invisible War
- Regards to PIL- Chinese expert praises Indian courts-
- Non-discrimination and Equality in India Contestin...
- Akal Takht, SGPC condemn slapping of Sharad Pawar
- Urbanization key to speedy growth: RBI governor
- Egypt's economy slumps under weight of unrest
- FDI decision taken to help Rahul's foreign friends...
- Kishenji's body identified by niece
- aviation crisis News Stories
- KISHENJI SPECIAL Calcutta Corner Why is Mamata Ban...
- Bring the spice back The men have left the Sunderb...
- Maoists allege fake encounter PRONAB MONDAL
- Blunted: Maoist peril & CPM slur - CM scores twin ...
- Hunt for Suchitra yields purse NARESH JANA
- State to fly Kishan’s body home if identified by n...
- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111126/jsp/frontpag...
- Egg on the face of fake Tagore champions - All 20 ...
- State steps up border vigil Police escort for fore...
- Kishan wily, govt wilier Parivartan and penetratio...
- Reforms Drive is in Topmost Gear Now in Absence of...
- Fog effect: 28 trains to remain cancelled for two ...
- ISHRAT JAHAN: MURDER IN COLD BLOOD Ram Puniyani
-
▼
November
(1134)
No comments:
Post a Comment