New Delhi: India's island neighbor, Sri Lanka is worried about India's nuclear power ambitions in the southern part of the country, not too far from Sri Lanka's coast. The Asian island is planning to take up the issue to the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in September. Sri Lanka's power and energy minister Champika Ranawaka said that their worry is the impact a possible nuclear disaster in one of the plants in India could have on Sri Lanka. India and Sri Lanka are separated by the Palk Straits; a narrow, shallow strip of sea below which lies a geographic formation known as Adam' s Bridge; a narrow strip of submerged land connecting the two nations. Ranawaka said that his ministry is currently conducting a survey of the coast, in order to identify areas to conduct radiation tests on. He added that his ministry has already taken up the issue with India and called for talks to discuss how to tackle issues in the wake of such a disaster. They are aimed at reaching a disaster mitigating process. “We have sent a proposal to India through the External Affairs Ministry and the Indians have sent back a note on the matter,” he said. According to Ranawaka, the Indian government seeks to begin broad based discussions with Sri Lanka and has sent a proposal to that effect. On the other hand, Sri Lanka's only concern is to reach a disaster mitigating agreement in the event of a nuclear disaster in the South Indian plants. It should be mentioned that Sri Lanka does not generate nuclear energy. However India has set up several nuclear power plants in South Indian states. There are three nuclear plants in South India. Moreover, India has decided, after much resistance from locals, to expand the Koodankulam nuclear plant in its Southern coast, just 250 km from Sri Lanka's northwest coastal town of Mannar. Sri Lanka is just 20 kilometers away from Indian main land at the closest point. When completed, the Koodankulam plant will produce 4.5 GW of power, making it one of the largest nuclear plants in the world. Sri Lanka's concern was enhanced after the Fukushima incident in Japan last year.
