[Newsreader] The nuclear power plant in Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is completely safe. In a press statement issued by Kalpakkam power plant a short while ago, there is no radiation leakage from the plant whatsoever. The statement says that the two units of the station had to be shut down since water entered the pump house, making it impossible to operate the units, and there is no damage caused to the nuclear reactors in any way.

In the wake of the Tsunami disaster, the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, also held a special meeting in the capital this morning. He met the top atomic energy officials in the meeting. National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit said the prime minister has asked for daily briefing on the situation at the plant.

[Dixit] The basic facilities of the reactor have not been affected in any manner. They are safe. They have been only shut down, so that the cleaning can be done, the water can be removed and things can be put back into normalcy. The only inundation was in the pits on the coastal area and in the pump house because of the sea water intake. And there are facilities for draining them out and that process is on.

[Newsreader] Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has postponed his visit to the tidal wave-affected states tomorrow. He is taking a series of meetings in the capital on the latest situation in flood-affected areas and the relief work being mounted there.

Even as the country reels from the impact of devastating tsunami waves, the Met [Meteorological] Department has forecast fresh tsunamis of up to 10 metres height across the eastern coastline. So far, 27 aftershocks have been recorded. A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook the areas around Great Nicobar Islands last night. It is not known if there were any casualties. Authorities in Kerala began evacuating people from the coastal belt to safer places following warning by earthquake experts that tidal waves might strike the Kerala coast again. A senior official of the Met Department has said that though the aftershocks will continue, major tremors are ruled out.

[passage omitted on other reports relating to relief and rescue operations and the visit of Sonia Gandhi and federal ministers to the Tsunami-affected states]

And going back to our top story. For more on the ground situation in Kalpakkam [nuclear power plant area], we are now joined in by our correspondent B. Narayanan on the phone from there:

[Anchorwoman Mandeep K. Verma] Narayanan, there were reports of two of the reactors being shut down and water having entered inside. So what is the status now?

[Narayanan] Mandeep, at the outset I will tell you that in an absolutely unprecedented move, the press, media, cameramen, everybody has been invited inside this [nuclear power plant] and there was a press briefing [?by] Anil Kakodkar, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. And what the officials here are now admitting is that water going, went into the cooling pump stations water is taken and water is [words indistinct due to bad telephone connection] here. So the tidal wave water entered the cooling stations. [words indistinct] ground floors were also. Now there are two units [words indistinct] here.

One was shut down for several months because they needed [words indistinct]. Other one was functioning [words indistinct] into the pumping station. That's (?one of the things). Hello.

[Mandeep] Narayanan.

[Narayanan] Hello.

[Mandeep] Narayanan, there are fears that there might be some sort of a leakage owing to the water entering inside. How true are these?

[Narayanan] Well, [name indistinct], he has read out a written statement that no radiation released and there have been no casualties in the plant area. There have been some casualties in the township [words indistinct] and this has happened all [words indistinct]. Plant officials are very (?stung) by criticism that they are trying to cover up some deaths due to radiation. They are saying that there has been no radiation release and that the plant was shut down in time.

[Mandeep] Thank you Narayanan. That was B. Narayanan joining us from Kalpakkam.