Jaitapur: Need to press pause,says Jairam

He said he had spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue

Reacting to the protests in Jaitapur,Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that while we cannot say goodbye to nuclear plants in the country,but looking at the situation,a pause button needs to be pressed for the time being.

He said he had spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue. Criticising the Congress-led government in Maharashtra,where one protester was killed in police firing last week,the Minister said: Firing is not the answer to stop the ongoing protests,a dialogue can help. The nuclear plant issue is a wake-up call after the Fukushima disaster and we cannot ignore the

panic of the residents.

Last week,Jairam had said in Mumbai that there would be no rethink on the environmental clearance given to the Jaitapur nuclear power project but it would need to include additional safety measures in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan.

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Meanwhile,Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray is scheduled to visit Sakhri Nate village near Jaitapur on Monday to meet the family of Tabrez Sayekar,who was killed in police firing.

The Sena has upped the ante against the nuclear power plant and declared that it would not allow the project to come up against the wishes of the locals. Two weeks ago,Thackeray had visited the region and held a public rally in Mithgavane village where he announced the partys opposition to the project.