Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project at Theni, Tamil Nadu
Recently Tamil Nadu has refused permission to the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) project at Theni.
The Tamil Nadu government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court. In this, the state government has clarified that it will not allow the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Bodi West Hills in Theni district.
The following concerns have been expressed on the INO project in the affidavit:
- Tunnel construction will create many problems. For example, in an environmentally sensitive area, there is a danger of pollution from construction waste material, cracking of rocks and collapse of the top.
- This project will impact biodiversity. This area provides shelter to many endemic species.
- This area is an important watershed and catchment area for the Sambhal and Kottakudi rivers. It provides livelihood support in five districts of Tamil Nadu.
- The project area connects the Periyar Tiger Reserve with the Srivilliputhur Meghamalai Tiger Reserve in Kerala. The excavation and construction activities will disturb the wildlife. These wildlife use this connectivity corridor for seasonal migration.
About Neutrino Observatory in India:
- It is a multi-institutional effort. It aims to build a world-class underground laboratory and a Byron Calorimeter (JACL) detector to study neutrinos.
- Its goal is to assess the properties of neutrino particles and to accurately measure parameters related to neutrino oscillations.
- The project is jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology.
About Neutrino:
- Neutrinos are small and neutral elementary particles. These interact with matter through a weak force.
- This weak force gives the neutrino its unique properties. This makes the substance almost transparent to him.
- The Sun, and all other stars, produces neutrinos in abundance due to nuclear fusion and decay processes within their cores.
- Neutrinos provide a means to study the structure of nucleons (protons and neutrinos). From this it can be known how any matter changes from simple particles to more complex combinations of particles Matter?
Source – The Hindu
