Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated the K-2 power project at the KarachiNuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) in Karachi. The power plant will generate 1,100MW electricity upon completion.Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister said that eliminating energy crisis and terrorism are the foremost priorities of the government. He appreciated the steps being taken by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission for the safety of existing and under construction nuclear power plants. He said the electricity supply situation has improved a lot as a result of steps taken by the government. Surely, the PM and his advisers felt it was a day to celebrate as they congratulated the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and thanked the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which will build the reactors. However, this enthusiasm is not – and perhaps should not – be shared by the inhabitants of Karachi. Civil society activists accused the government and PAEC of hubris as they ignored the severe risks that the $10 billion Kanupp poses to Karachi. Their main objection: the twin nuclear power plant poses near-fatal danger to the over 20 million inhabitants of Karachi if any accident happens. Many activists have argued that the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency had overlooked the most serious objections to the nuclear power plants. It seems the federal and provincial governments have not undertaken the correct environmental assessments of the project and have been resting on the claim that somehow these nuclear reactors are safer than any other nuclear reactor built in the world. The EIA for Kanupp-2 and 3 were submitted in secrecy before activists raised alarm. How can one forget that the power plant is only 10 kilometres away from Karachi city and that any serious nuclear accident could easily take down at least half the city, including Defence, Clifton, Saddar and major chunks of Shahrah-e-Faisal. If the nuclear reactors are built, Karachi could be potentially sitting on a huge nuclear accident. While nuclear reactors tend to be heavily protected and fairly stable, there are still a number of natural and man-made catastrophes they cannot repel. Moreover, being a new design, the reactor has literally no safety record. Nuclear reactors are the riskiest method to supply electricity. Chernobyl was the worst but the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 is the latest reminder of the severe risk these plants pose. An area of at least 15-20 kilometres radius from the plant has effectively been sealed off with a high risk to humans still present. The Fukushima accident meant an international rethink on the use of nuclear power, with Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium deciding to phase out their nuclear power programmes. The question is: why is Pakistan willing to take on the severe risk posed by nuclear power?
pk.shafaqna.com
