The National Fishworker’s Forum (NFF)- one of the largest organisations of fishermen in India – Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking for immediate cancellation of proposed nuclear power plants on the coastline to protect ecology and their livelihood.
“We request the government to immediately cancel the planned nuclear power plants across the coast of the country as it will destroy the coastal ecology and severely affect the life and livelihood of millions of coastal fish workers,” the NFF said in the letter.
The plan to set up nuclear power plants at Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and Jaitapur (Maharashtra), to augment the power requirements of the country faced a stiff opposition from a section of fishermen who apprehended that setting up of such plants will destroy the marine ecology of the area.
The NFF in its letter also registered its protest over the ‘Letters of Permit’ scheme allowing the foreign fishing vessels to fish in Indian waters.
“The Letters of Permit scheme is nothing but allowing the foreigners to loot the marine resources of India. We want this scheme to be cancelled immediately,” said the letter.