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KOODANKULAM |
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Sundari Pentapush, PMANE leader
Idinthakarai
‘The nuclear plant is a threat to our lives and children’
Jeemon Jacob
Idinthakarai
Sundari Pentapush has been in the forefront of the anti-nuclear struggle in Koodankulam since 1988, when she was just 11 years old. Last September, she had gone on a hunger strike for 27 days. Though she has studied only till Class VIII, she can rattle out facts and figures about the ills of nuclear power at the snap of a finger. It’s her leadership that keeps the women protesters together. The 35-year-old housewife, who is married to a fisherman and has two children, talks about her fears and convictions
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Sundari Pentapush, PMANE leader
Photo: Jeemon Jacob |
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Why are women at the forefront of this struggle?
We saw on television what happened at Fukushima. We don’t want the same to happen in Koodankulam. When Fukushima happened, our men were at sea. So they didn’t know what had taken place. Most of them don’t read newspapers. So we had to explain the situation. We will be the most affected if the nuclear plant becomes operational. It’s just 1 km away from my home. We are bothered about our children. We don’t want them to suffer. We are working day and night to provide them a better future. I have two children. The nuclear plant is a threat to our lives and children, and we are here to fight against our common enemy. We will fight till we die.
The expert committee appointed by the government has submitted its report, which says that the plant is safe. So why are you agitated about the plant’s safety?
If it’s so safe, why isn’t the prime minister setting up a nuclear plant in New Delhi, near his house? If he is so sure, why isn’t he sanctioning a project near a place where his daughter lives? Power shortage is a common problem. Even Delhi suffers from power shortage. We don’t believe the scientists and we have no faith in them. They have misled us and taken us for granted for years.
How did you raise funds for the protests?
Like the prime minister, do you also believe that foreigners are funding our protests? You are mistaken. We have raised money on our own. We decided that every ration card holder will contribute Rs 200 every month for our struggle. Every fisherman is donating 10 per cent of his earnings to the movement. We have no dearth of funds. Our people have learnt hard lessons. Once we take a decision, we stick to it.
How did you organise the women for the struggle?
We educated them about the nuclear project. Most of us have been fighting against it since 1988. Whenever the women sit together, we discuss only Koodankulam. It has been a nightmare for the last 24 years. I joined the struggle when I was just 11. Along with my mother, I went to Kanyakumari to stage a protest. We got arrested. Now I don’t fear arrest or jail. It’s been a part of my life.
How can you stop the project when the government has given the green signal?
What do you want us to do? Stop our battle and wait for a tragedy to strike us? We can’t do that. In this game, the profit goes to Russia and the loss will be ours. We are fighting for our democratic rights and our demands are legitimate. We have never indulged in violence nor have we destroyed public property. We are holding silent protests to meet our demands. But what has the government done? They have arrested our people, including our parish priest. They are in jail. They had snapped the supplies of power, water and milk, and also bus services. They tried to throttle us. Now the high court has reinstated everything. We will continue our struggle.
Jeemon Jacob is Bureau Chief, South with Tehelka.
jeemonj@gmail.com |
