Its safe, says DRDO Chief Controller

CHENNAI: Noted Scientist and Chief Controller of Research and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Dr A Sivathanu Pillai on Tuesday said that the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project was safe.The observations of the top official from India’s premier defence research organisation gains significance against the backdrop of the State Cabinet resolving to take steps for early commissioning of the plant, ending the impasse over the project on Monday.“The nuclear plant is safe, as the Russians have used the latest technology at Koodankulam,” Pillai replied when reporters quizzed him on the sidelines of the 87th college day celebrations of Loyola College in Chennai, about the popular perception among the anti-nuclear activists that nuclear power is unsafe and its radiations are dangerous for the people. “Similar reactors are presently functioning in 12 different locations of the world. All these reactors were operating without problems and there are absolutely no possibilities of any sort of disaster,” he categorically stated. Earlier, delivering his address on the occasion, Pillai stressed the need for nuclear energy, opining that it would also solve the power crisis.