Commissioning of the 1,000-MW first reactor of the Kudankulam nuclear powerplant in India has ground to a halt due to protests by the local population. Originally scheduled for December, commissioning and start up of the estimated $3-billion plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu was moved to March 2012 because protestor blockades have prevented engineers from gaining entry into the plant.
Stricken with delays since it was first conceived in November 2008, the plant has been the target of safety concerns among the local population following the recent nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japan.