Protests against the Kudankulam nuclear plant
Fishing villages around Idinthakarai led a sustained movement against the Kudankulam nuclear plant, which nonetheless began operating in 2013 and 2014.
After the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, residents of coastal villages near the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district intensified protests, led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy under S. P. Udayakumar. Hunger strikes, sea sieges and mass gatherings at Idinthakarai continued for many months, and thousands of protesters faced criminal cases. The state government cleared the project in March 2012 and the Supreme Court allowed it to proceed in 2013. The first reactor, built with Russian collaboration, was connected to the grid in October 2013 and began commercial operation in December 2014.
