The Hindu Business Line : IGCAR to put in place early warning system

"WE are lucky that the nuclear installation is safe. We need to have a robust information gathering and dissemination system and cannot afford to have a radiation leak," said Dr Baldev Raj, scientist and Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), at Kalpakkam.

Kalpakkam, near Chennai, was hit by Sunday's tsunami that ravaged the country's eastern coast. And though the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) top brass assured the nation that Kalpakkam's atomic plant was safe, the close encounter that the nuclear installation had with the killer-wave sent a chill down the spine of people reading about the happenings.

Information gathering and dissemination is the key and the DAE has put it on priority.

"We are doing our homework on other tsunami-warning systems in places like Hawai, for instance," Dr Raj told Business Line, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Crisis Management Cell.

The scientific community has become a casualty of the tsunami, in several ways.

Five scientists and 25 family members in Kalpakkam township have been killed by the tsunami.

But the tragedy has also triggered a debate in the public domain on why the scientific community had not been able to alert the nation, even after the Andaman and Nicobar islands had been hit.

"We are used to cyclones and tidal waves. But we never thought that the Indian coast can be hit by a tsunami," said Dr Raj.

But all this has changed now and the institution is networking with other coastal installations to put in place an early warning system, he said.

"The scientific community here feels that we could have had a better information gathering and disseminating system," said Dr S.L. Mannan, a member of the Crisis Management Cell.

While the scientific community still grapples with the killer-wave and its aftermath, Dr Raj recounted how scientists, administrative colleagues and workers battled to save lives. IGCAR's administrative officer Dr Joseph Dorairaj, his wife and son had a close call, as the car they were travelling in was lifted about four feet from the ground.

Technician Mr Arul Das and his family had to climb a mango tree for safety.

While Dr A.K. Arora, a senior scientist, noticed the unusual flow of heavy water in the backwaters and linked it with the earthquake effect.

He moved towards the water tank and took four others to safety, members of the cell said. But there were others who were not so lucky.

As homage to the departed, the employees, scientists and workers at the Kalpakkam township will take a peace-march on Monday.

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