Jaitapur

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Jaitapur is a small port on the Arabian Sea in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, India. It became well known because of a proposed nuclear power project.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India plans to build six reactors at Madban village near Jaitapur. Each reactor would be 1650 MW, for a total of 9900 MW. If built, the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Station would be the largest in the world. The plant is named after Jaitapur because the port would serve the project, even though the site is in Madban.

The area is thought to be seismically active. It lies in seismic Zone 3, and the Geological Survey of India notes many earthquakes there in the past 20 years, the largest around magnitude 6.2. This has raised safety worries after events like Fukushima.

Locals and tribal groups have protested, worried about safety and biodiversity. On 18 April 2011, police opened fire on protesters, killing one person and injuring several. The next day, a bandh (strike) was called in Ratnagiri, and there were attacks on a hospital and buses. Greenpeace India has supported the people of Jaitapur in opposing the plant.