I’m with you, Jaya tells N-plant protesters

TUTICORIN: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cautioned her about the consequences of stalling the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli district, chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday extended full support to the villagers, who have stepped up their protests.
She assured them that their interests would not be compromised. Jayalalithaa’s assurance comes in the wake of a second letter by the Prime Minister advising her against stalling the project, which he said was bound to affect the state’s development and industrialization process.
Campaigning in the south for the local body polls, Jayalalithaa said, “I will be one among you in solving the issue.” At Tuticorin, where she campaigned for her party’s mayoral candidate, the chief minister said she would respect the concerns of local people and respect their sentiments. After returning to Chennai in the evening, Jayalalithaa, who has been heli-hopping to campaign venues, added a twist to the issue, claiming she had not received a second letter from the PM. “I have not yet received the latest letter from the PM on the Kudankulam issue.I received an earlier letter. But the second one I saw only in the media,” she told reporters.
Protesters block nuke staff
As the second round of protests entered the fifth day on Thursday, the protesters, who were hoping that chief minister J Jayalalithaa would make some decisive statement on the issue, expressed disappointment. Campaigning in the region for the civic polls, Jayalalithaa assured that interests of the villagers would not be compromised and that she was keen to find a solution to the issue.
“We expected the chief minister to give some concrete assurance on the cabinet resolution,” said M Pushparayan, convenor of the protest. He warned that the stir would be intensified if the central and state governments did not take steps to scrap the project. Meanwhile, the crowd at the Kudankulam protest venue is thinning.
Many villagers, who had earlier joined the protest in large numbers, are now trying to go back to work in spinning mills and factories. With the festive season beginning, most of them would need the bonuses paid by their employers. But activists and some villagers joined the protests, blocked the roads and prevented many of the scientists and other workers from proceeding to work as they felt people’s strength should be demonstrated until their goal is achieved – to get the nuclear power project scrapped altogether. There were heated arguments between the protesters and the public who were stopped from proceeding to work, causing some tense moments. Only school students, particularly those sitting for their public examinations, were allowed to go about their daily activities.