Somewhere in Maharashtra....

Several NGOs and the Shiv Sena, opposing the proposed 9,900-MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant on Sunday forced the cancellation of a meeting to be addressed by eminent nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar on the benefits of nuclear power, an official said. Kakodkar was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at a conference on sustainable energy at the A M College in Hativale, according to anti- Jaitapur activist Vaishali Patil. However, the programme was cancelled at the last minute on Sunday afternoon by the organisers after threats by anti-plant groups to disrupt the proceedings, even as all the invited groups also boycotted the function, she said. Now, the programme is scheduled to be held at a college in Pune for two days starting Monday, but the Shiv Sena and other NGOs have vowed to disrupt it since Kakodkar is a known proponent of the plant. “We feel that government-sponsored officials are attempting to mislead the people here and other parts of the country,” Patil said. She added that all the anti-plant groups have taken umbrage at the PM’s statement on foreign support to NGOs trying to derail mega-developmental projects in the country.