Kalpakkam
| Kalpakkam கல்பாக்கம் |
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 India
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| State : | Tamil Nadu | ||
| District : | Kanchipuram | ||
| Sub-district : | Tirukalukundram | ||
| Location : | 12 ° 31 ′ N , 80 ° 10 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 4 m | ||
| Residents : | 254 (2011) | ||
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Kalpakkam ( Tamil : கல்பாக்கம் Kalpākkam [ ˈkalpaːkːʌm ]) is a place in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . It is located in the Kanchipuram district , about 60 km south of Chennai .
Kalpakkam is located on the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal . It was founded in 1969 by the Indian Department of Atomic Energy for its employees when the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and the Madras Nuclear Power Plant (MAPS) were built there. The origin of the place were the two fishing villages Pudupattinam and Sadras . The newly established settlement of Kalpakkam Township for the workers of the nuclear power plant lies between these two villages.
Supraregional importance
The place gains supraregional importance through the facilities of the Madras nuclear power plant. It is the first heavy water moderated pressurized water reactor (PHWR) built entirely in India.
Kalpakkam and the nuclear power plant hit the headlines when it was initially said that the tsunami of December 26, 2004 had also damaged the nuclear power plant. However, the operators assured that the power plant could have been shut down without incident. However, the tsunami left extensive damage in the area and claimed numerous lives in Kalpakkam as well.
Web links
- the place
- Madras Atomic Power Station ( Memento from April 4, 2005 in the Internet Archive )