Visit to NPCIL.

I stepped out of car to experience the silence of the forest, sunshine touched the tip of tall trees, chirping of birds had begun, little stream under the bridge was soothing for mind and soul. Yes, it was the place I wanted to be again--Kaiga.

The route which we took to reach Kaiga was exquisite. Tall trees formed canopies in such a way that sunlight did not bother to touch the ground. As the day started, ground thrushes, emerald doves and many other birds followed us. 

As soon as KBM--2016 dates were decided, I expressed my desire to Mr. Mohan Das to visit one of the most interesting site, The Nuclear Power Corp Limited. 

Little information on NPCIL aka Atomic power station---is a power generating station situated on the banks of river Kali, adjacent to Kadra dam. As the site director of NPCIL say Nuclear power is green power. This generating station uses Kali river water along with nuclear fuel to generate electricity which is transmitted to different parts of Karnataka. 

The site is protected by dedicated CISF staff who work discreetly, day and night. Entry to the site premises is restricted. It provides lot of learning curve to every person.

A scenic view of NPCIL site from Kaiga-Yellapur road.

Mr. Mohan Das had arranged everything for me and my friends. We were instructed not to carry gadgets of any sorts since it is restricted. Mr. Harish escorted us to the bust stop where NPCIL bus picked us, and after a short journey we were in the site premises. A thorough security check was conducted by the security personnel. 

We then proceeded towards a hall where demo model of the site is kept. One of the employee, Mr. NVS Kumar explained how the nuclear core reactor works, the procedure of generating power, the procedure of transmitting the generated power and many things. He obediently answered our doubts with all the knowledge gained in his experience. His explanations brushed our engineering skills.

We were taken to the simulator building as well. The replica of the controller room was shown to us. Controller room is where the monitoring of site and nuclear reactors takes place.

After some technical stuffs, we headed to a small butterfly park maintained by NPCIL staff. It was gorgeous. Many species of butterflies were identified.  

Our next stop was to NPCIL canteen led by Mr. Mohan Das. He bought us lip smacking food and hot beverages. He started sharing his past experience in Kaiga that had limited options in early days. But now, he would not leave this place. I came out of the canteen wondering why he would not leave this place, a flock of noisy pied hornbills soared on top of my head clarifying my confusion.! 

On behalf of everyone I'd like to express my gratitude to Mr. Mohan Das for giving us an opportunity to enter such sophisticated set up. It would not have been possible without him.