Staff Reporter The Church of South India and the National Council of Churches in India on Tuesday expressed solidarity with the ongoing agitation against the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Inaugurating an anti-nuclear meeting organised jointly by the ecological departments of the CSI Synod and the CSI diocese of Central Kerala at the Eco-Spirituality Centre at Othera near Thiruvalla, Bishop G. Daivashirvadom, CSI Deputy Moderator, called upon the government to take immediate steps to resolve the issue. According to him, nuclear power had only a bleak future and hence India should stop chasing the same and drop the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the larger interest of protecting earth.
“Christians believe that economic growth should not be sought at the expense of environmental and social goals. Churches should have an important role in supporting a partnership attitude to overcome some of the driving forces behind profligacy and over-consumption. The Bible contains many warnings on the dangers posed by materialism and the early Christians advocated a lifestyle characterised by sharing and moderation,” the CSI Deputy Moderator said.A resolution adopted at the meeting said that the environmental risks involved in nuclear power included the threat of nuclear accidents, the legacy of toxic radioactive waste, and the effects of unintended radiation. Christians should be particularly mindful of human fallibility, it said. Addressing the meeting, Christopher Rajkumar, NCCI secretary, too extended support to the agitation. S.P.Udayakumar, who has been leading the Kudankulam agitation, addressed the gathering in a tele-conference held on the occasion. Bishop Thomas K. Oommen presided over the meeting.