An unclear article on the nuclear deal

Found this while surfing aimlessly.

The article deserves mention because of the authors : Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, and Sandeep Pandey! The article is quite speculative, for example I don't see how the 123 agreement would 'escalate the arms race between Pakistan and India', and consequently end up 'sabotaging the India-Pakistan peace process'.

Further down :

However, our basic objections to this deal stem from our opposition to the production and use of both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The irreversible dangers of radioactivity and its ongoing impact on health, water, and the environment are factors that are being summarily dismissed in an irresponsible manner. The whole cycle of nuclear production beginning with uranium mining, is fraught with catastrophic dangers, and as a nation we cannot use the decisions of another country as justification for our own. Places like Jaduguda in Jharkhand, Kota and Pokhran in Rajasthan, have already demonstrated the ongoing dangers of nuclear use to the common citizen.

I really don't know how Jaduguda, Pokharan and Kota have 'demonstrated' any danger? (no sarcasm here). Some citations/examples would have helped here (as well as at other places in the article). Given the respect most people have for the authors (myself included), I think they could afford a longer article detailing all their objections and reason them sufficiently.

What's the alternative? Hydro: requires dams, and I concur with Medha Patkar that there should be no more of them. Solar? Requires space, huge infrastructure. Wind? Limited availability. Thermal (coal) ? The only realistic alternative. It has low efficiency, even lower because coal in India is of poor quality, and has emissions that are quite harmful. Plus lives of people working in coal mines have been documented so often and makes a sad story every time (Dhanbad, anyone?).

Despite the apparent lack of logical completeness, I admit I find a point : that there is a need for greater discussion on the deal. I disagree with the communists, and I know that the reasons for BJP's protest are the most despicable ones. But more discussion, and public discussion : I am all for it. Maybe there should be someone quoting how many people are endangered because of coal mining, and what exactly are the 'dangers of nuclear use to the common citizen'. Though the logistics of any such discussion, given the size of the country, could be an issue, the magnitude of the issue demands it.