A south Indian fisherman was killed on Monday after police opened fire to clear a highway blocked by demonstrators protesting against the country’s largest nuclear power project, due to start up within weeks after months of opposition.
Hundreds of protesters threw stones at police lines and also blocked a rail route, a police official told reporters. Police responded by firing a volley of bullets in the air, killing one protester, the police official said. Other demonstrators set fire to a local government office.
Earlier, police used tear gas to break up thousands of protesters on a beach near the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which is in the state of Tamil Nadu.
About 4,000 activists, mainly women and children from fishing villages, had camped on the beach about a mile from the plant to protest about the threat of radiation.
Protesters had waded into the sea or escaped in fishing boats as hundreds of police advanced on the beach. They threw rocks at police and several injuries were reported by both police and the protesters.
The Kudankulam plant is due to open within weeks and will provide two gigawatts of electricity – enough to power millions of Indian homes and relieve a power crisis in the state of Tamil Nadu. More nuclear plants are planned.
The government’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board last month gave clearance for fuel to be loaded into one of the Kudankulam plant’s two reactors, one of the last steps before it can begin producing power.