Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), July 22 (Reporter) Police detained nine people, including six Russians, who were found ‘roaming suspiciously’ at Idinthakarai coastal village near the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on Monday. Police sources said here on Tuesday that following an alert received from the fishermen of Idinthakarai, the Kudankulam police rushed to the village and picked up six Russian nationals, including a woman journalist, two persons from Tamil Nadu and one from Kerala. They were taken to Kudankulam police station, where the Russian nationals travel documents including visa were verified and their purpose of visit to the Idinthakarai area. They were also interrogated by senior police officers till late on Monday. Since the Russian nationals were found roaming without any proper permission from the police, the Central agencies were also interrogating them. The coastal village of Idinthakarai is an epicentre of anti-KKNPP protests led by anti-nuclear activists, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE). KKNPP - India’s largest and most advanced civil nuclear programme is under the midst of controversy, ever since late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement to construct the advanced two VVER 1,000 MW pressurized water reactors on November 20, 1998. The locals upped their ante against the project raising apprehension that on attaining criticality, the nuclear project would totally shatter their livelihood and lead to displacement, besides endangering the environment. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is constructing six units of VVER-1000, light water reactors at KKNPP with Russian assistance. After the completion of the entire project, KKNPP will have a distinction of one of the biggest nuclear power plants in the World with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW. While Units 1 and 2 with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW each were commissioned in 2013 and 2016 respectively, the construction of Units 3 to 6 is underway...////...