Sri Lankan raises concerns over Indian power plant

The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said it could not rule out the possibility of a threat to the island posed by a nuclear power plant in neighboring India. Sri Lanka's Research and Technology Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that Sri Lanka had sought an agreement with India where information on the power plant would be shared but so far India has not responded to that request. The minister said that Sri Lanka cannot rule out a threat being posed to the island from the Indian power plant if there is a disaster similar to the Fukushima incident in Japan. The Indian media reported that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in southern India has been connected the power grid for the first time. Ranawaka said that local authorities continue to carry out tests to look for any radiation that may come from the Indian power plant. The minister also said that the Sri Lankan government is yet to take a policy decision on turning to nuclear energy to meet the electricity demands of the country. Protests had been staged in India against the power plant while in Sri Lanka groups had raised concerns as the power plant is located in the south of India which is closest to Sri Lanka. In March this year, India denied reports of leaks of having developed in critical equipment of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant which could result in radiation leaks posing a threat to Sri Lanka. The Indian High Commission in Colombo said that those reports were totally baseless. The commission also said that all nuclear power plant sites in India are capable of managing the radioactive waste generated at its nuclear power plant sites.