Koodankulam: The cost of resistance

“Many people have asked me why I protest in my condition (polio affected) but I tell them exactly why I protest. I have suffered from my physical handicap so much and I don’t want any child to suffer that. Nuclear accidents and continuous exposure to radioactivity deforms foetuses and increases the possibilities of handicapped children…I went to the beach protest on the 9th with my children with the same determination…As the police started lobbing tear gas shells and lathi charging simultaneously, I started running with my children. Because of my handicap, I was a bit slow. My daughter was injured and was near the sea. As I was trying to go close to her and pick her up, an RAF man caught hold of me and told me, ‘Why do you women want to run behind Udayakumar? Sleep with me.’ I cried and begged him to leave me… My child was bleeding and in the water,” evidence given by a 29-year-old disabled woman on September 20/21, 2012.

This is among several horrific testimonies that form part of a fact-finding report accessed by Pratirodh Bureau. The soon-to-be-released report has been prepared by a team comprising former judge of the Bombay High Court B. G. Kolse Patil, senior journalist from Mumbai Kalpana Sharma and Tamil writer R. N. Joe D’Cruz after their visit to the villages of Idinthakarai, Tsunami Colony of Idinthakarai, Vairavikinaru and Kudankulam on September 20/21.