From all of us at ACP, Happy Krishnashtami! Krishna Janmashtami Subhakaankshalu!
Along with puja and celebrations, remember the message of the great hero of the Mahabharata: ‘Dharma sustains the whole world‘. Wife and Husband, Father and Son, Mother and Daughter, Brother and Sister, Friend and Friend, it is Dharma that sustains all of these relationships and ensures that by doing justice to all of us, all of us are preserved.
By protecting those who sustain us, person or animal, and treating them humanely, we ensure our own well-being.
By treating others with respect and fairness, all of society is preserved. Greed is not Good, Dharma is good. Practice it.
He may be called makhanchor or muralidhara, but he is also called Go-pala for precisely that reason.
Along with chanting his name,follow his example.That is the surest way to a just society.
“నూకల మీద ఆశతో కిందకు దిగగా, బోయ వాడు పన్నిన వలలో చిక్కుకున్నాము. నీ మీద గంపెడాశతో వచ్చాము. కనికరించి నా పరివారాన్ని ముందుగా రక్షించు” అని గువ్వల రాజు పలికెను.
English: The King of Doves said thus. “Greedy to eat the grains on the earth, we flew down and got entangled in the net thrown by the wily hunter. Please rescue my subject with kindness”
తుదకు నీ బళ్ళ బిగువు తోడ కావు
నన్ను యనగ మూషిక రాజు నొచ్చు కొనియె
మొదలు రాజు గాదె తుదకు మిగుల బంట్లు
యనగ గువ్వ రాజు యిటుల నుడివె! 22
“నా పరి జనాన్ని కాచిన పిదప నా బధాలను కూడా తొలిగించు!” అని గువ్వల రాజు మూషిక రాజును వేడుకొనెను. అది విన్న మూషిక రాజు నొచ్చుకొని ఇటుల పలికెను. “మొదట రాజు ప్రాణాలు కాపాడి, తరువాయి పరిజనుల కాచుట పాడి కాదే?” అనగా గువ్వల రాజు ఇట్లు పలికెను.
English: “Finally, you can save me with the strength of your teeth.”, When the King of Doves said thus the King of Mice felt sad and said, “Oh! Friend! Is it not appropriate if the King is rescued first and then the subjects?”
నమ్ము వారిని కాపాడి నన్ను గావు
రాజ ధర్మము కాదటె ప్రజల గావ
సేమ ముండెడి ప్రజలు రామ రక్ష
వారి బంధమ్ము తొలగించి వారి బంపు! 23
“నన్ను నమ్మిన వారిని కాచి నన్ను కాపాడు. ప్రజలను కాపాడుట రాజ ధర్మము కాదా? ప్రజల క్షేమమే కదా రాజులకు శ్రీ రామ రక్ష. ముందు వారిని కాపాడి పంపుము.”
“Is it not my duty to protect my subjects, as a King? They came with me having belief. The safety of people is as Rama’s blessing to the King”, so said the King of Doves. “So, you rescue them first and send them on their way”.
యనవుడు మూషిక రాజు వలను గల తాళ్ళను పళ్ళతో పట పట కొరికి చివరకు చిత్రగ్రీవుని కూడా విముక్తి చేసెను. 24
English: Hearing this, the King of Mice rescued all the doves including the King by cutting the net with his teeth,
ఎలుక గువ్వ చెలిమి ఇటులుండ చూసిన
వాయసమ్ము కలుగు చెంత చేరి
మూషికుండ నేను మిత్రుడ గువ్వకు
నీదు స్నెహ మరసి నిన్ను వేడ! 25
గువ్వ, మూషికము చెలిమి కనులారా చూసిన వాయసము మూషికము నివాసమైన కలుగు వద్దకు వచ్చి, ” ఓ మూషిక రాజా! నేను చిత్రగ్రీవుని మిత్రుడను. మీ ఇరివురి స్నేహము చూసి ఎంతో సంతొషము కలిగింది. నీతో మైత్రి కొరి వచ్చాను” అని పలికింది.
Looking with happiness, the friendship of the Mouse and Dove, the Crow came to the rat hole and said thus. “ Oh! Hiranyaka! I am friend of Chitrgreeva. I was elated to see how close you two were. So I came here seeking your hand of friendship”
కలుగు నుంచి వచ్చి కనుమ నన్ను కరుణ
యనగ మూషికమ్ము యిటుల నుడివె
నీదు నాదు జాతి కాదు మిత్రు లెపుడు
మైత్రి నీవు నేను మసలు టెటుల! 26
“కలుగు బయటికి వచ్చి నన్ను ఒక్క సారి చూసి పొమ్ము” అని వాయసము వేడుకొనగా, మూషికము ఇటుల పలికెను. “ఒయి! వాయసమా! నీకూ, నాకూ మైత్రి పొసగుటెటుల? మనది జాతి వైరము కదా? వాయసము, మూషికము చెలిమి చేయడమనేది కష్టము కదా?
“Please come out of your hole and see me” Then, the King of Mice said, “ Dear Crow! How can we be friends? Was there not enmity between our communities since days of yore? How can a mouse and crow be friends?”
మమ్ము దినెడి జాతి మీదిగ యెటు నేను
నమ్మి నీదు యెదుట రాగలండ
యనగ వాయసమ్ము యిట్టుల బలికెను
నొచ్చు కొంటి చాల నీదు మాట! 27
మమ్మల్ని భక్షించే జాతి మీది కదా? నిన్ను నమ్మి ఎటుల బయటికి రాగలను?” అని మూషిక రాజు పలికెను. అది విన్న వాయసము, “మూషిక రాజా, నీ మాటలు నన్నెంతో బాధించాయి!”
“ Your people eat us. How can I believe you and come out? So said Hiranyaka from inside his hole. The crow replied, Oh! Friend! Your words troubled my conscience”
మూషిక రాజు మరల నిట్లనియె.
The Mouse King further said.
తగిన వారి మధ్యె తగునుగ స్నేహము
మైత్రి యెటుల మనదు మధ్య చెప్పు
యనగ వాయసమ్ము యటులనె కానిమ్ము
మైత్రి లేక నేను మనగ లేను! 28
మూషిక రాజు ఇంకనూ ఇట్లు పలికెను. “స్నేహానికి ఇద్దరి మధ్యా సరియయిన లక్షణాలు ముఖ్యము కదా. మనవి విరుద్ధ స్వబావాలు” అనగా వాయసము అటులనే కానిమ్ము అని అచటనే కూర్చుండి పోయెను.
English: Friendship is possible where characters and cultures meet. We have characters that oppose each other” But the crow sat there on “Dharna”
యనుచు వాయసమ్ము యకడనె కూర్చుండె
యపుడు యెలుక యిటుల బలికె బ్రేమ
అగ్నికాగు నీరు యగ్నియె జల్లార్చు
వైరి జాతి తోడ తగదు మైత్రి! 29
ఆ విధంగా కూర్చున్న వాయసముతో మూషికము ప్రేమతో ఇటుల పలికెను. ” వాయసమా! నీకు తెలియనిది కాదు. ఏ అగ్ని సహాయము తీసుకొని నీరు వేడెక్కుతుందో, అదే నీరు ఆ అగ్నిని చల్లారుస్తుంది. నిప్పూ, నీరూ వలెనే మనది వైరి జాతి, మన మధ్య స్నేహ మెలా పొసగుతుంది?
Observing that the crow was not moving the King of Mice said out of affection, “ How can fire and water together. Does the water that uses the fire to get hot, douse the same fire by using its inner character? How can we be friends?”
నీవు బయటి కొచ్చి నన్నును జూడొకొ
కన కుండ యెటుల కోప పడెదు
చూసి చెప్ప రాదె చేటు ఏమి కలుగు
యనగ మూషికమ్ము యిటులను బలికెను! 30
పట్టు వదలని వాయసము ఇటుల వాపోయెను. “ఒక్క సారి కలుగు బయటకు వచ్చి నన్ను చూడవచ్చు కదా? చూడకుండగనే న్యాయాన్యాయాలు ఎలా నిర్ణయిస్తావు?” అనగా మూషిక రాజు ఇటుల పలికెను.
English: The adamant crow persisted. “Why don’t you come and see me and talk? How can you judge me without even seeing me?”
వైర ముండు రెండు విధమ్ముల జగమున
పుట్టు వైర మొకటి బుట్టగానె
విషయ వాంఛ తోడ వచ్చును మరి యొకటి
కుక్క పిల్లి యుండు కలిసి యెటుల! 31
“ప్రపంచంలో రెండు రకాల వైరాలుంటాయి. ఒకటి పుట్టుకతో వచ్చే జాతి వైరము. రెండోది విషయ వాంఛతో వచ్చే వైరము.కుక్క, పిల్లి కలిసి ఉండడం సాద్యమా?”
English: “There is two kinds of enmity in the world. One comes by birth. The other comes because of desires to own things. Is it possible for a cat and dog to live together?
మృగరాజు మనునె మదపు టేనుగు తోడ
మనదు మధ్యె మైత్రి మొదలె లేదు
నీరు నిప్పు మధ్య నేస్త మెటుల
తిరిగిపొమ్ము వాదు తగదు నీకు! 32
“మృగరాజు మదపుటేనుగుతో స్నేహము చేయునా? మన మధ్య పుట్టుకతోనే వైరమున్నది. నీరు, నిప్పు కలిసి ఎలా ఉండగలవు? నా మాట విని వెను తిరిగి పొమ్ము”
“How can a Lion King and an elephant make friendship? How can water and fire live together? Hear my word and go back to your place”
యనగ వినిన కాకి యిటులను బలికెను
మైత్రి కలుగు ఏడు మాట లాడ
నీవు యుండు కలుగు నీదు లోన
నన్ను బలుకరించు నీవు బ్రేమ తోడను! 33
అనగా విని వాయసము ఇటుల పలికెను.” ఏడు మాటలతో స్నేహం బలపడుందని పెద్దలు చెబుతారు. నువ్వు నీ కలుగులో ఉండు. నేను ఇక్కడే ఉంటాను. తియ్యని కబుర్లు చెప్పు. వింటాను.”
Hearing these words, the crow said “ elders say friendship is possible on exchange of seven words between two people. You stay in your hole. I will stay here. We can exchange sweet words without meeting each other also”
ఈ విధంగా వాయసము పలుకగ విని ఆనంద పడిన మూషిక రాజు కలుగు లోపల నుంచి తియ్యని కధలు చెప్ప సాగెను.కాకి బయట నుంచే తిరిగి కబుర్లు చెప్ప సాగెను. ఈ విధంగా కాలమే తెలియ కుండా వారి మధ్య స్నేహ బంధము బలపడెను.
English: The King of Mice felt happy and started sweet conversation with the crow from inside his hole. The crow was talking in return staying outside only” Like this, the bond of friendship between them got strengthened by the day.
కాకి తెచ్చి బెట్టె కలుగు చెంత దినుసు
ఎలుక దెచ్చి బెట్టె కలుగు నుంచి
నెయ్య మయ్యె వారి నడుమను యెంతయొ
యటుల యుండు గాదె యనగ బ్రేమ! 35
ప్రతి దినమూ వాయసము కలుగు చెంత తిను బండారాలు తెచ్చి పెట్టేది. మూషికము తన కలుగులో దాచుకున్న తిను బండారాలను తెచ్చి పెట్టేది.ఆ విధంగా వారి మద్య బలీయమైన స్నేహం ఏర్పడింది. అహా! ప్రేమ, స్నేహాలన్న ఇంత తియ్యగా ఉంటాయి కదా?
Every Day, the crow was bringing grains and other eatables and keeping near the hole. The mouse used to share her saved food with the crow. Thus, an unbreakable friendship bond developed between them. Is it not surprising how friendship develops even between born enemies?
The following Post was composed by £avanya garu. You can follow her on Twitter.
On average everyone has been into social media for the past 5-6 years. We have seen everything from Desktop sites to android apps, and many people with different mentalities.
And now – What was your first thought if I ask you this question:“tell me in one line what is social media” to you ?
Okay everyone has their own answers now. But I am damn sure nothing related to country and patriotism. Is that not true?—at least, for the majority of you?
Sometimes I wonder..okay let me be more specific, every year in August I wonder why there won’t be any major trends until the great day, August 15th, arrives.
All the year, 24/7, we see trends on movies, actors, political scams, or politically biased views by journos. Most of the trends based on love and hatred, either-or, yes-no, left-right…everything except right-wrong. But not even a meaningful, two day trend on our country… I wonder, nearly 200 years of our Indian struggles, and not one even eligible to be remembered and spoken about for a week at least?
India Independence is not a simple history subject to be remembered at exams or on just Independence day – it’s a freedom we are enjoying everyday with every breath!!
But here no one speaks, or no one trends, or not even tweets single hashtags. Leave aside the common man, not even self-attested “intellectual” journos or celebrities. There are lot more topics to spread. There are many leaders to be praised to remind us of their struggles to bring back our beautiful rich country that once was.
Hopefully a single post or single tweet per day is not so tough a task to anyone who visits and spends time in social media everyday.
I assume there is a problem with our education system too in this particular topic. Patriotism is something to be taught from childhood as a subject. There is much more to teach than just Gandhi & Nehru dynasty in English subjects. And finally just assembling on Independence Day, and declaring holiday by giving chocolates to children, is not enough either. Technology brought many changes in society. And I thinkits time to change education system of India too.
Coming back to point: Using social media once in a while for good is definitely not a bad idea, friends. We have many browsing sites which gives us information on our fingertips…such as this one!
Patriotism is not just showing up one day; it’s a feeling that should be in our heart, every minute of our heartbeat.
Even we know that trends on silly things like actors or movies are in no way useful to our career or life. And politics are always politics. They became part of our awareness about what’s happening. My opinion does not mean to stop everything and to hold the flag and carry everyday. Just start reading about our freedom fighters or even people today doing good things for the country rather than for the camera . There are not only just fighters, there are leaders and inspirational people who can guide us in our day-to-day lives for good.
I just want to say that –
Social media is a powerful tool which can do good and bad, at our fingertips. Try to use for good. Try to use it responsibly to spread information that might be useful instead of only fun. There are many people doing useful things who need our support now, as they may not be around later. Even if you can’t do something big for Bharat, help those who are!
If you appreciate and Like my idea of posting, hope to see many stories of great freedom fighters in social media this August.
Happy Independence day to every Indian! JAI BHARAT!
‘Andhra Pradesh set to become a nuclear power hub,’ the headline of a report in The Hindu dated July 21, 2016, says. It quotes a central minister as saying, ‘In Andhra Pradesh six nuclear centres are going to be created, totalling thousands of megawatts capacity.’ As against the government’s goal of 53,000 MW installed capacity by 2031, AP will account for 30,000 MW.’
Interestingly, in Gujarat, besides the opposing people, the Tatas, the Adanis and Essar are not ‘comfortable’ with the gigantic plant proposed as they are owners of power plants there. What a euphemistic word to be used by the paper—not feel comfortable; instead of the word opposed. Some people of AP at the proposed locations may at best be ‘feeling uncomfortable,’ not more than that yet. Are they fatalistic or are so pragmatic that they are not prepared to break their heads against a stone wall? Even at Kovvada in Srikakulam district the people seem to be giving up their struggle of years. What is the tactic of governments? They wait to the extent possible and tire out the people whose struggle in opposition is intense. Then the poor and fatigued people, who are fatalistic basically, can be lured into accepting packages by making them appear attractive to their eyes—offers they cannot refuse.
Is it coincidental or paradoxical or both that at a time when the global nuclear industry is in doldrums and the global share of nuclear power has fallen from its historic peak of 17.6 to 10.7 per cent in 2015, the proposal to make AP a nuclear hub has come about? One thing, however, could perhaps be said. For nothing in return those in governments take such major decisions, which have far reaching consequences, in the name of national interest. Who decides which is in national interest and which is not? Not the people, but the governments which are not afraid of the people except in an election time. India does not have a history of the people of an entire state taking up cudgels against setting up nuclear plants; those who are away from a site chosen feel comfortable of the fact that, after all, it is not going to happen in their own frontyards or backyards. In a selfish world why should one bother oneself by taking a holistic attitude and contracting others’ headaches?
In the backdrop of the government’s decision, those who are going to live in the company of so many nuclear reactors—just in one state—in their neighborhood need to know some basic facts concerning nuclear energy with a historical perspective. The safety of generation after generation to come over thousands of years is now at stake.Let us question ourselves as to what moral right we have to drag future generations into dangers by a step the present generation takes. Once the people in the state of AP know enough of the issues involved and what they entail to them, it is up to them whether to take to a path of agitation or to resign themselves to the potential dangers. But how will they know, in the first place? It is not just an issue of displacement of people, more serious concerns are involved in the proposal. What is happening in reality? Once the displacement issue is taken care of nuclear concerns are ignored by the people.
Nothing new is going to be attempted here other than giving an account of the factswhich already are in the public domain as results of brainstorming by those who are far better qualified than me. I want to re-echo them in prapancha hitam—by a ‘collection’, beelike, from various sources. This honey is bitter unlike its sweet cousin; but both intend to do good. This is a layman’s narrative for laymen’s sake. There is no guarantee against a feeling of already being familiar with these facts, while going through them—except that it is worthwhile.
Proposed Andhra Pradesh Nuclear Power Projects in 2016
$ – Rosatom is likely to build 6power plants in the state. Srikakulam & Nellore Districts among the locations.
$ – 1Russian nuclear power project to build 6 VVER reactors in Haripur, West Bengal is likely to be moved to Andhra Pradesh due to protests by locals.
$ – Westinghouse Electric announced that it will be relocating 1proposed project to build 6nuclear reactors from Mithi Vardi in Gujarat to Andhra Pradesh.
$ – GE-Hitachi: allocated a site in Andhra Pradesh to build 6 Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors. the project has been put on hold as India is wary of GE- Hitachi nuclear reactors as they have not been tested before.
$ – “if everything goes according to plan, Andhra Pradesh will be home to more than a dozen nuclear reactors.” 
~18 Reactors and ~9 Nuclear Plants to be constructed in Andhra Pradesh
THEIR NUCLEAR LOVE IS NOT BLIND
The nuclear issue goes beyond the need of energy security, defence and foreign policy points and there’s the rub.
Dr Anil Kakodkar, former head of the Department of Atomic Energy, said in a Marathi article that India must import reactors with billions of dollars because, “We also have to keep in mind the commercial interests of foreign countries and of corporates there.” That preposterous altruism should be read in conjunction with what Dr A. Gopalakrishnan, a past chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, said in his article of DNA dated March 17, 2011: “Even in the negotiations of costs, the safety and liability of imported reactors, the official nuclear agencies today are operating hand-in-glove with their friends in the corporate houses and federations.” He further says, “Ever since the UPA government has taken over in 2004, the collusion between the PMO, DAE, NPCIL and the various corporate houses in India and abroad has substantively increased.” In the wake of the nuclear deal with the US which would pave the way to the lifting of international nuclear embargo on India, the UPA government had to face a no-trust motion in Parliament.
To save itself it bribed some Members of Parliament by paying Rs.10 crore each involving a total amount of Rs.50 to 60 crores as revealed by Wikileaks. The US embassy at that time informed Washington that the Congress party officials boasted that they would buy opposition MPs to win the trust vote. Why was even the continuation of the government risked on the nuclear issue and corrupt practices resorted to if the intentions were bona fide? If one argues that in the national interest it will not be bad even if dubious means are adopted, that will be a different case. In an article dated at countercurrents.org, Dr Kakodkar is quoted by Capt Buddhi Kota Subbarao, PhD, as saying: “America, Russia and France the countries that we made mediators in the efforts to lift sanctions, and hence, for the nurturing of their business interests, we made deals with them for nuclear projects.” A quid pro quo shamelessly admitted to have been made.
Capt (Dr) Subbarao debunks the conception that nuclear power plants are needed to make nuclear weapons. The plutonium that was used in Pokhran I  and Pokhran II  nuclear tests was derived not from nuclear power reactors but from the Research Reactors.
The nuclear power industry indulges in a strong public relations campaign and it is backed by powerful lobbying groups. When the Three Mile (TMI) accident occurred the whole official establishment and nuclear industry moved in a coordinated manner and were in a denial mode about the ill effects. Some dubbed the effort as “one of the biggest lies ever in American industrial history is that no one died at the Three Mile Island.” Dr John William Gofman, who was instrumental in developing the atomic bomb, had as a medical doctor to his credit breakthrough discoveries in heart diseases and LDL/HDL cholesterol. He was chief of health research at the Atomic Energy Commission. When he came up with findings nailing the lie of the establishment he was promptly fired. He discovered that regular radioactive emissions from America’s nuclear plants would kill 30,000 citizens per year even without an accident or terror attack. He refused to change his findings when the industry tried to prevail upon him. He preferred to lose his job.
The Radiation and Public Health Project which tried to reveal horrifying truths of the TMI was branded as of little credibility even by the community of scientists. Joseph Mangano, one of its members, who has a master’s degree in public health, was not surprised by the opposition he faced from the ‘military-industrial-energy-pharmaceutical-governmental complex.’ He ran the shoe-string organisation with offices mostly on his kitchen table that spent several years questioning the safety of nuclear power stations. He came up with the finding that the nation’s 100-plus nuclear power reactors when operated under normal conditions were giving people cancer.
Harvey Wasserman, who edits newsfree.org and is a senior editor of freepress.org, in an article in commondreams.org, dated November 19, 2007, observes, “Today, with billions in bailout dollars on the line, there is big money to be made in saying that atomic reactors have harmed no one.”
The country also seems to feel with a touch of quaintness that by doing nuclear business with other countries it can win friends who can come to its aid in international affairs. Add to that the ambitions of the leaders at the helm who hanker after their personal international image. The costs involved in winning such friendships and image-building are not amenable to estimation—colossal the costs are.
THY NAME IS HYPOCRISY
American companies have been building nuclear reactors in other countries. Even after 37 years of the accident at the Three Mile Island it is not yet ready to give a chance to new nuclear energy plants.For the US, selling of just two reactors means thousands of jobs. Barack Obama, who promotes nuclear power deals with other countries, during the course of a speech said that every four minutes another American house or business goes solar.
The French utility Areva, having almost gone bankrupt, scouts for nuclear business. The country plans to reduce its nuclear-generating capacity by a third by 2025 one of the reasons being prohibitive costs of reactors. Where a rich France does not dare, India tries to tread.
Australia possesses over 40 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves, but it does not dare or care to generate nuclear power.
No nuclear company is prepared to bear any liability to its full extent. They know by experience how huge the costs of liability could be and how accident-prone the reactors are. India is foolhardy to limit the liability of foreign suppliers to just Rs.1500 cr. One major nuclear accident is enough to leave its entire economy in dumps. In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster Japan is estimated to have incurred anywhere between $150 to 250 billionsso far, probably a half of which is towards compensation.
Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have decided to freeze or phase out nuclear power.
The 6 Kovvada nuclear reactorsare estimated to cost Rs.4,00,000 crores. One reactor costs around Rs.65,000 cr. The facts that (a) the plants require the highest capital in the energy sector, (b) they are the highest water guzzlers and (c) they have the highest gestation period of over 10 years among other energies belie the claim that nuclear energy is cheap. Some have put the cost of nuclear energy at Rs.48 cr per megawatt which may not be an exaggeration. To say it is ‘too cheap to meter’ is a big falsehood.
NO RISK—AS TRUE AS THE HARE HAVING A HORN
Experts say that in a nuclear power plant the risk can only be lowered but not eliminated. The work of a nuclear plant is extremely complex and it is next to impossible to predict all possible failures. To err is human. You cannot eliminate a human error, unless those involved in the process are superhuman, either in designing or in operation of a plant. There are multiple ways in which accidents could sneak in. If you try to fix one it will give rise to another. In Fukushima while tsunami and earthquake were hand in hand externally, the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents had internal causes.
A study lists 99 nuclear accidents which could cause at least one death or a damage costing above $50,000. India accounts for 7 of them. Besides those, Kakrapur Atomic Power Station in Gujarat on March 11, 2016 suffered a leak of heavy water. The newly commissioned Kudankulam also had a leak.
THREE MAJOR ACCIDENTS AND THE SINGLE LESSON THEY TAUGHT
The US, the only country which exploded a bomb in anger, also has the dubious distinction of having the first major nuclear accident too in its nuclear plant at Three Mile Island on March 28, 1979. A combination of personnel error, design deficiencies, and component failures caused it. As robot cameras revealed one third of the fuel melted. Then no one knew what was really happening as it was unprecedented. Even after 37 years, thedecommissioning of the plant and restoration of the site are decades away.Plans are afoot to fully restore the site by 2054—75 years after the happening. They claimed there were no immediate deaths or injuries and that its long-term impact would be negligible. They however admit that the psychological toll was immense.
Though the TMI’s owner claimed that its releases harmed no one, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission admitted to Congress that nobody knew how much radiation escaped or where it went. Official figures showed a huge jump in infant death rates in Hartsburg in the three months after the accident. Compared with the numbers for the previous two years State’s statistics showing heightened cancer rates were quickly altered. An investigative team from the Baltimore News-Herald uncovered a massive epidemic of death and disease among the area’s farm and wild animals. The writers, based on a horrifying series of house-to-house interviews, found cancer, heart attacks, respiratory problems, skin lesions, cataracts, a metallic taste in the mouth, hair loss, etc.
Not many years later, on April 26, 1986, the worst of the three major accidents happened at Chernobyl in Ukraineas a result of an experiment carried out by the plant personnel, besides there being construction errors and negligence. According to a calculation of Dr Alexey Yablokov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as reported by Common Dreams dated March, 25 2011, one million people died. He rued that his book ‘Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” which he co-authored, had been met mainly with silence from bodies like the World Health Organisation and no discussion took place about the findings he pointed out in the area around Chernobyl, as contaminated today as it was 25 years ago. Cesium, americium, strontium and plutonium that got deposited in the soil have reached the roots of plants which then propel the radioactivity back to the surface.
John Vidal in his article, ‘Nuclear green Cheerleaders forget Chernobyl at our peril,’ published in The Guardian dated April 1, 2011, says when he went from hospital to hospital in the still highly contaminated areas of Ukraine and the Belarus border in 2006, after 20 years of the accident, they found deformed and genetically mutilated bodies in the wards; pitifully sick children in homes; adolescents with stunted growth and dwarf torsos; fetuses without thighs or fingers and villagers who told that every member of their families was sick. They heard of many unusual clusters of people with rare bone cancers. One doctor in tears told them that one in three pregnanciesin some places were affected and that she was overwhelmed by people with immune and endocrine system disorders. Others said they still saw cesium strontium in the breast milk of mothers living far from the areas thought to be more affected, and significant radiation still existed in the food chain. Villagers testified that the ‘Chernobyl necklace’—thyroid cancer—was so common as to be unremarkable; many showed signs of accelerated ageing. The article further reports that Konstantin Tatuyan, one of the liquidators, who had helped clean up the plant, told them that nearly all his colleagues had died or had cancers of one sort or another. The radiation released at Chernobyl was estimated to have far exceeded the one at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
When the disaster at Fukushima happened on March 11, 2011, even the Japanese Prime Minister was panicky. In his testimony before the Parliamentary Committee he said, “There wasn’t much information coming to me from the government regulatory agency, NISA, or the Plant’s Operator, TEPCO. I thought I couldn’t make any counter-measures in this crisis. I felt fear.” He condemned the utilities, nuclear regulators, bureaucrats and academics who support the legacy of nuclear energy in Japan. This group [termed as ‘nuclear village’] he felt had no remorse for the disaster.
The accident resulted in a massive radioactive contamination of Japan’s mainland. Long-lived radioactive cesium contaminated 30,000 sq km of the land surface. Some 4,500 sq miles was found to have radiation levels that exceeded Japan’s allowable exposure rate. Even after 5 years since the accident, road to recovery has been difficult and long and is not yet complete. It took the government 88 days to accept that a meltdown had taken place. TEPCO [Tokyo Electric Power Company] estimates that the cleanup operations could take up to 40 years.
A Japanese Greenpeace campaigner says, “There is still an enormous amount of radioactivity there which is not controlled, in liquid form, leaking into the underground, and slowly moving into the ocean and that is very dangerous for the future”. Everyday, 300 tons of contaminated water leaks from the crippled nuclear plant. About 3 lakh people lived in the neighbourhood of the accident. Five years after the happening, tens of thousands still live in temporary housing.
WASTE OR MONSTER
Frankenstein faced the wrath of the Adam of his own labour. Having learnt a lesson from what he did he became wiser and refused to create a female monster-mate for the male one to live with. Indians have their own Bhasmaura who chased Siva to save whom Vishnu had to take the trouble of incarnating as Mohini.Our ‘civilised nations’ refuse to learn lessons of their misadventures.They create nuclear waste and they are at their wits’ end on how it can be disposed of. A human lives only a hundred years; the monster is ageless and deathless. If we fail to keep it in proper chains it will devour us. But a tragedy is that you can’t hold it in chains however strong they may be for long. He chaining is just an act of postponing its going on a rampage.
The waste has to be kept in large water pools for cooling down which may take 1 to 10 years and then transferred into caskets [steel cylinders surrounded by additional steel or concrete]. Mind you, nuclear waste can be only stored, not made to disappear. A decommissioned reactor poses as serious a problem as the waste it has generated. Everything in life perishes except nuclear waste. Just imagine how it would be possible to store a huge quantum of waste the 546 reactors generate worldwide.
The Bush administration in 2002 chose Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a common repository for geologic isolation of 70,000 metric tons of its total waste of 107,000 mt and spent on the project $12 billion dollars. The consolidated geological repository was intended to isolate the waste to protect future generations over a period of 250,000 years—which also means that it has the potential to harm for so long a period. The Department of Energy admitted that there was no guarantee that the radioactive waste would not leak into the ground water some day. If it so happens, it would affect potable water, meat grown with the contaminated water, and milk from cows which are exposed to the contamination through their feed and water. The ground water-table could rise and come in contact with the waste. Even the storage containers are prone to breaking open.There also was the possibility of portions of the mountain collapsing. The people were naturally aghast and opposed the move. The Obama administration, as promised at his election time, stopped funding which led to mothballing the project.
What do you expect from democratically elected governments? They should bow to public opinion. But even in countries which wear on their sleeves their democratic credentials, when it comes to nuclear issues, bitter is the experience. There can however be exceptions always. The headline of the BBC News dated May 30, 2011, sounds musical to the ears of those who value human life and public opinion: “Germany: Nuclear power plants to close down by 2022.” Incredible? Germany took a decision to phase out all its nuclear plants by 2022 yielding to massive public protests post the Fukushima disaster. As a first step it decided not to reuse its seven oldest reactors which were taken off line for a safety review. One more would be offline due to some technical glitches and six other ones would go offline by 2021. This was despite the fact that one-fourth of Germany’s energy need is met by nuclear power sector.
DO WE HAVE ONLY HOBSON’S CHOICE IN OPTING FOR NUCLEAR POWER? RUBBISH!
Climate temperatures are attributable to variations in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is an important heat-trapping [greenhouse] gas, which is released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels as well as a natural procedure such as respiration, volcano eruptions. If climate changes sea levels rise and oceans become warmer. Longer and more intense draughts threaten crops, wildlife and fresh water supplies. The planet’s diversity of life will be at risk. It affects peoples’ livelihoods, places and species. So if we do not want ourselves to perish we have to cut down on carbon emissions. This is possible only by opting for clean, cheap, renewable and harmless energy. Are we then left with only the option of going nuclear? We already know its perils. We are using nuclear energy to supplement our energy basket of renewables such as wind and solar. A simple question is:What prevents us from investing more in the renewables and obviate the necessity of the nuclear option?An equally simple answer:Nothing prevents us if we have the will. Three major renewable resources are sun, water and wind with various other sources which can chip in handsomely. As Capt (Dr) Subbarao observes India would reap enormous harm by largely investing in nuclear energy which starves funds for other sources of power.
We revere the sun as a god and chant the Gayatri Mantram for both spiritual and earthly well-being. The sun never grudges our drawing more and more energy from its shine [it in fact shines for our sake]. But take enough care even from a god and do not over-expose yourselves to its radiation. It allows us to make hay while it shines. Means are being found to store such hay and use it even when it does not shine, especially during nights. As per a cnn.com report dated October 3, 2011, unlike a typical solar power plant which stops working when the sun sets, a new one in southern Spain, called ‘Gemasolar’ can supply power all through the night. During the day it captures the energy of the sun and stores it in a tank. Then, regardless of day or night it can be converted into electricity. Located outside a village Fuentes de Analucia, ‘Gemasolar’ bills itself as the world’s first commercial-scale concentrated power plant that uses molten salts receiver technology. 2,650 large mirrors called heliostats direct the sun’s rays to a receiver at the top of Gemasolar’s 450-foot tower that shines like a beacon during the day.
The Hindu dated October, 4, 2012, quotes a study according to which India can meet its energy needs sans nuclear power. The study of two professors from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, published in ‘Current Science’ says 4.1 per cent of the total uncultivable and wasteland area in India is enough to meet the projected amount of annual demand of 3,400 TWh by 2070 by solar energy alone. Even that extent of land could be reduced to 3.11 per cent if other potential renewable could be tapped. The newspaper also quoted another IISc professor as saying that a three kilowatt rooftop solar panel system on the 425 million Indian households can generate total per-year energy of 1900 TWh and meet half the demand projected by 2070.
Wind never stops from blowing. We have read about some yogis substituting air for food. If we all could emulate them we can solve the problem of hunger in the world. Paradoxically quite nearby the Kudankulam nuclear plant, thousands of windmills are rotating generating wind power. The potential of wind energy in India is estimated at 20 to 30 times more than the government’s assessment of over a lakh of megawatts. In come parts of the country the cost of wind power dropped below than of coal-based energy. Wind power can increase to 20 per cent worldwide by 2050.
Hydro and waste-to-energy are other renewable sources of energy. According to an estimate 75 per cent of hydro potential is yet to be exploited. Oh, our potential to produce waste is limitless! It has plenty of potential to generate electricity. Once a stage is reached when not a kilo of waste is not wasted, we may cease to call waste as waste. Bio-mass, bio-gas [sewage, landfills and livestock] could come in handy. Andhra Pradesh being a coastal state is ideal for Tidal power plants.
The World Nuclear Industry Status Report dated July 13, 2016, makes an interesting reading:
Compared with 1977, when the Kyoto protocol on climate change was signed, in 2015 an additional 829 TWh wind power was produced globally and 252 TWh of solar photovoltaic electricity, compared to Nuclei’s additional power of 178 TWh.
In 2015, power generation using Solar energy grew 33 per cent, wind power over 17 per cent, and 1.3 per cent from nuclear source, entirely due to 31 per cent increase in China.
China spent over $100 billion on renewables in 2015. While investment decisions for 6 nuclear reactors amount to $18 billion.
Share in energy-mix: The nuclear share of the world’s power generated remains stable over the last four years, with 10.7 per cent in 2015 after falling steadily from the historic peak of 17.6 per cent in 1996.
The Guardian dated May 9, 2011, reports that the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change [IGPCC], the body of the world’s leading climate scientists, convened by the United Nations, says that if the full range of renewable energy technologies are deployed, the world could keep greenhouse gas concentrates to less than 450 parts per million, the level scientists have projected will be the limit of safety beyond which climate change becomes catastrophic and irreversible. Investment in renewables to the extent needed would cost only about 1.1 per cent of global GDP annually.
SOME BASIC STUFF
An atom is the smallest particle that can break a material. Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus of an atom. At the core of an atom there are two types of particles—neutrons and protons—that are held together. Nuclear energy is the energy that holds neutrons and protons. It can be obtained in two ways, fusion and fissure. In fusion energy is released when atoms are combined or fused together. In fissure, atoms are split into smaller atoms, releasing energy. Reactors run on the fission mode.
Nuclear reactors use fuel made of solid ceramic pellets or enriched uranium that are sealed in strong metal tubes. These are bundled together to form a nuclear fuel assembly. The uranium pellets are about the size of the tip our little finger. They release tremendous amount of energy in a nuclear reactor. One pellet has an amount of energy equivalent to almost one ton of coal. The energy released by the nuclear fuel produces great heat, which boils water into steam. The steam turns giant turbines, which generate electricity. After 3 or 4 years in a reactor, the pellets are no longer effective for providing electricity and the assembly is removed from the reactor. After removal, the assembly now called spent fuel, is highly radioactive.
Reprocessing is a method of chemically treating spent fuel to separate out uranium and plutonium. The byproduct is a highly radioactive sludge-like residue. By this method is produced fissile material for nuclear weapons.
Nuclear waste is of two kinds—(1) spent nuclear fuel which is radioactive byproduct of electricity-generation at commercial nuclear power plants, and (2) high-level radioactive waste the byproduct from reprocessing the spent fuel to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. Nuclear waste contains highly radioactive elements such as, cesium, strontium, technetium, and neptunium. Some of the elements will remain radioactive for a few years, while others will be radioactive for millions of years.
Radioactive material is one which emits radioactive energy in the form of alpha, or gamma particles or rays all of which can damage living tissues.
This Post was composed by Navuluri Rao garu. You can follow him on Twitter.
Disclaimer: This article represents the opinions of the Author, and should not be considered a reflection of the views of the Andhra Cultural Portal. The Author is responsible for ensuring the factual veracity of the content, herein.
Telavaaru jaamuna shumaru 5 gantalaki anukunta, oka roju punya snanam ki Vijayawada lo ni Bhavani ghat ki velaga; punyam devudu yeruga leniponi rogalu vochunemo anipinchindhi. Kaaranam akada amavaruni darsinchukotaniki vochina bhaktulu inka itharulu vari kaalakruthyalu ani akade theerchukovatam. Idhe taraha lo Godavari pushakaralu ki Telangana lo ni Basara ki velamu.. akkada idhe tharaha.
Chaala ibandhi kara paristhi aadavaladhi. Magavaru kevalam oka inner tho vundatam alanti gumpu lo nundi veli snanam cheyatam anadhi jugupsa kaliginche vishayam. Maroti Tirupathi lo angapradakshna samayam, cheruvu lo vastralatho thadichi Swami vaari darsananiki velali. Soaps shampoo ilantivi vaada koodadhu ani petina adhe chesthunaru bhaktulu. Inka akkada manaki devudu meedha yepati bhakti vunadhi anadhi aradham kaani sandeham.
Janam aacharinchakuna, government vaaru ayina kachithamayina aankshalu pedithe baguntundhi. Velapudu security ni petalekuna kanisam ilanti pushkaralu apudu.
Opikaga chadivinadhuku manspoorthi ga thanks chepthunanu. Thapulu vunte kshaminchandi. Idhi chadivi oka 10 mandhi maarina naku anadhame. Idhi kachitham ga na okadhani avedhana matrame kadhu, yentho mandhi aadavaru dhi.. Nenu chepagaluguthunanu anthe.
Krishna pushkaralu ranunanvi ..andharu anandham ga aadavariki ibandhi kaliginchakunda anadistharu ani korukuntu mee
This Post was composed by ₤αναηуα. You can follow her on Twitter.
Disclaimer: This article represents the opinions of the Author, and should not be considered a reflection of the views of the Andhra Cultural Portal. The Author is responsible for ensuring the factual veracity of the content, herein.