This is with reference to the news report ' Centre suggests N-power plants to reduce power import' (TGE, May 13). It is surprising that the Union Power minister Manohar Lal Khattar has suggested to the Goa govt to undertake a feasibility study of setting up a nuclear power plant in Goa to meet the grave shortage of power in the state. The dangers of nuclear power plants as an alternative to thermal power and hydro electric power generation, are too well known to be overlooked. Not only are nuclear power plants very expensive , but the production of nuclear wastes which are radioactive and lifelong, pose a great danger to life, and problems for their disposal in a safe manner. Radiation from the plant is also known to harm the workers and people residing in the vicinity. Goa being a small state, the best option would therefore be to go in for solar power generation on a large scale which, besides being environmentally friendly and ecologically harmless, is also a renewable source of energy which will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to a large extent.
