Leading environmentalists yesterday urged the Indian government to protect Sri Lanka from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, as it had developed leaks even before being commissioned. Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena yesterday noted that the relevant Atomic Energy Authority should take necessary steps to check the radiation levels in the sea water and air to determine whether any radioactive materials had reached the country already. He told The Island that the relevant authorities should consider that a serious matter and should act immediately to protect Sri Lankans, especially the people who lived in the Northern and Eastern provinces. "If there is any major leak it will devastate Sri Lanka," Gunawardena stressed. However, last year Atomic Energy Authority chief Dr. Ranjith Wijewardane urged the public not to panic over KKNPP as there wasn’t any immediate danger of any radiation leaks, requiring mass evacuations, noting that people living in the Northern Province should not be frightened of the plant. Responding to a query by The Island yesterday Dr. Wijewardane said that he couldn’t answer any questions from the media as his Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka had asked him not to talk to the media. Meanwhile, all efforts made to contact newly appointed Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, to obtain his comments, proved futile. Kudankulam is situated in the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, 25 km North-East of Kanyakumari and 35 km from Nagercoil. It is also approximately 220 km from the western coast of Sri Lanka. Indian reports have indicated that Russian experts working there are unable to plug the leaks.