Emergency personnel involved in decontamination during an exercise at Kaiga station in Uttara Kannada district on December 11. Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
An exercise to test preparedness in the event of a radiation leak at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India’s (NPCIL) Kaiga nuclear power plant was recently successfully conducted in “probably radiation-affected villages” in Uttara Kannada district.
According to a press release issued by Uttara Kannada District Deputy Commissioner K. Lakshmipriya, the drill on possible radiation leak was conducted on December 11.
“After the district administration received an emergency alert message from the Kaiga site emergency director at 6:30 a.m. on December 11, two radiation impact zones with L zone covering Hartuga, Goole and Nagekove and M zone covering Kuchegar, Shirve, Keravadi and Devalamukki were established and a drill was conducted,” the report said.
After the alarm, the chairman of the district office for crisis management and the deputy governor presided over an emergency meeting at 6:45 a.m., instructing officials to take corrective measures immediately.
Subsequently, villages affected by the radiation leak were cordoned off, warnings were sounded and the public was urged not to pay attention to rumors on social media after school and college holidays were announced.
As part of the exercise, transport officials provided buses to transport the public to rehabilitation centers set up for this purpose. At the same time, health examinations were carried out among the residents of the affected municipalities. Citizens, animals and vehicles leaving affected villages were decontaminated and water and other materials and equipment used for decontamination were safely disposed of. By 2:10 p.m., a notice to stop the radiation leak at Kaiga Station was issued by the district office, and a subsequent press release was issued to inform the general public of the abatement of the danger.
Published – 13 Dec 2025 20:09 IST
