Environmentalists slam Sri Lanka’s nuclear power plant plans

COLOMBO - Environmentalists in Sri Lanka have expressed concern over the government’s plans to build a nuclear power plant in the country by 2025.

Sri Lankan Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka had said that the government intends to build the plant to fulfil increasing demands for energy.

However, environmentalists claim that the island country is full of natural sources of energy.

Centre for Environmental Justice spokesman Hemantha Withanage said that Sri Lanka is “too small” for a nuclear power plant.

He argued that Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sources - such as solar and wind - can meet energy requirements if they are properly managed.

He also warned of dire consequences if the plan goes ahead.

“How a country which struggles to manage ordinary household refuse thinks that it will be able safely to dispose of nuclear waste is a very important question,” the BBC quoted Withanage, as saying.

Earlier, Ranawaka had said that the government was having discussions with Russia over buying nuclear fuel and sending nuclear waste back.

“We are considering nuclear power as an option in our long-term generation plan for 2025,” Ranawaka had said. (ANI)