NEW DELHI, 9 NOV: The controversy-hit Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) will start producing power by the first week of December and the first tranche of 1,000 MW will go to Tamil Nadu, Union minister V Narayanasamy said today. He said enriched uranium has been fed into the core of the vessel and the lid was closed. “Now, the vessel is being pressurised. After that, a trial run will start. That will go for about 20 days. Thereafter the production is likely to start. Probably in the end of November or first week of December,” he told PTI here in an interview. Citing letters from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on power shortage, the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office said the “entire 1,000 MW (of power from the plant) has to be given to Tamil Nadu”. India's atomic power plant operator, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd is setting up the plant at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district. Mr Narayanasamy said the Centre is getting support from the ruling AIADMK on the project. He said that since law and order is a state subject, the state government has provided support for the purpose of providing security to the plant. “Therefore, I said the DMK has supported us (as the project started when they were in power in the state). They are supporting us. Now the AIADMK after coming to power, they are also supporting us for the project. Therefore, we have support from both of them. This is what I said. But it was twisted by the media,” the minister said. His reaction came on media reports quoting Mr Narayanasamy that the DMK has initially supported the Koodankulam power project, but later backed out. Rejecting the report, Mr Narayanasamy said, “So many have tried to divide Congress and the DMK and now it is media's turn. “We have to carry state government with us. Therefore the state government is supporting (on Koodankulam). On the nuclear project they are supporting us.” Nuke regulatory body JAIPUR, 9 NOV: Activists today demanded an independent regulatory body and an independent safety review of the nuclear power plants in the country. Also, People's Union for Civil Liberties activist Kavita Srivastava alleged that at a nuclear plant in Rawatbhata, where the International Atomic Energy Agency is carrying out a safety review, 34 casual workers who were exposed to overdoses of tritium were asked to go on leave during the inspection of work. An IAEA team is carrying out a review of Rawatbhata units No.3 and No.4. Writer Praful Bidwai also highlighted the need for such a regulatory body. pti