No benefit to people of TN

TIRUCHY: Tamil Desa Podhuvudamai Katchi, a Left outfit, will organise protest demonstrations on October 24, demanding closure of the Koodankulam nuclear plant. In a statement here, party’s general secretary P Maniarasan said the purpose of the plant at Koondankulam was to provide uninterrupted power supply to the multi-national companies in Tamil Nadu and other States.  It would not be useful for the small and medium enterprises or the general public in the State, he asserted. He further said TN would be a surplus State in power, if all the power generated at NLC was given to the State. The power shortage faced by TN was only 22 crore units, while the total supply from NLC to Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka was 26 crore, he contended. “The NLC supplies 11 crore units of power to Karnataka, nine crore units to Kerala and six crore units to AP, while getting three crore units from Ramagundam plant in AP.If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has real concern for the power situation in TN, he should allow it to fully use the power generated at NLC, owned by the Centre”. Manmohan Singh, who had done nothing to protect the rights of TN in the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar row, was shedding only crocodile tears about the adverse effects of industrial growth of TN, if the Koodankulam project was abandoned, he added.