Q) Dr Basu what is wrong with the atomic reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu? People say you have used wrong parts, shoddy parts and that is why it has failed for last six months it is not working? Even Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get it started.
A) See, saying that everything is wrong is not at all correct, just now as you say that the American's are writing our reactors are not safe, so the very fact that we are taking lot of time to re-start the reactor is because of the fact that we want it to be super safe.
This is a new reactor started for the first time we had to show to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) so that we had to open up everything, even the reactor fuel assemblies had to be removed to show the inside of the vessel to show that everything is fine, only after that they are giving clearance.
This is for the first time and six months is not at all a big thing. Earlier reactors we have seen they have been shut down for two years also and then the same Tarapur reactor which was shut down for two years, today it gets shut down only for 20 days or a month.
Q) So is the Kudankulam reactor safe? Is there something wrong with the parts, have you been able to get the parts from Russia?
A) It is not something wrong with the parts, it is a normal procedure. Once you are boxing it up and it will be operational for one year continuously, you have to make sure that you inspect everything and where ever you have something or you suspect that [something] can go wrong or if some wearing has taken place, you replace it with a new one so that for the next one year you do not have any problems.
Q) So when can one expect the Kudankulam reactor to start again?
A) I am very sure that next month Kudankulam reactor will be going critical and towards the end of the month [January 2016] we should be able to synchronize it with the grid.
Q) What about Kudankulam unit 2, which is the second 1000 MW reactor at the same location, when can one expect that to start producing power?
A) We expect it go critical somewhere in April 2016 and after another one and half months because it is again for the first time it will then be synchronized with the grid. Therefore, by next June you will see it is feeding power to the grid.
Q) Levy also says that we are making a secret nuclear city somewhere in Karnataka to make Hydrogen bombs? Is there fact in it and is it really secret?
A) As far as this secret bomb is concerned, I do not know what is this secret bomb? Is he aware what is required to make this secret bomb, yes uranium can be used theoretically to make bomb, but whether one should make bombs out of uranium is also something that I do not know.
See we have to supply uranium to our plants so if we do not make anything to process this uranium, how can we say that we will not do anything and keep quiet. The whole exercise to me is looking like an effort to slow down our programme. These types of things do not carry any meaning.
