C Shivakumar C Shivaku Chennai The project is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest INO PROJECT: Access to the site is through poromboke land, says programme coordinator Prof Indumathi THE Rs 960-crore India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project at Bodi West Hills is awaiting environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest and a report had been submitted to it a few months ago, according to INO outreach coordinator Prof Indumathi. She told Express on TuesHQ likely in Madurai The headquarters of the INO project is likely to be in Madurai, said T Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar, principal and secretary, The American College, who is also the chairperson of the INO cell of the college. He said a proposal for this had already been placed before the State government day that access to the laboratory would be through poromboke land. Horizontal tunnels would be built to access the laboratory that would be 1,000 metres under the mountain. "Since the lab and the tunnel would be on forest land, we are seeking the permission of the environmental ministry," Indumathi said. The INO would organise a mass outreach programme on Thursday to spread awareness and dispel myths about the project. "We are planning to reach more than 1,000 people. The idea is to inform them that the project will not harm their livelihood," she said. She said Bodi Hills do not have dense forest and there is no wildlife sanctuary there. So, there shouldn't be a prob lem in getting environmental clearance unlike the earlier site, Singara near Masinagudi in Nilgiris, which had a tiger and elephant sanctuary. To a query on the fears of radiation, she said, "The main reason for locating the labora tory underground is to create an environment free of the radiation that is in abundance on the Earth's surface. This radiation is due to cosmic rays and natural radiation of the materials around us. The j experiment will not produce any radioactivity. Besides, its purpose will be defeated if there is radiation." The primary goal is the l study of neutrinos from vari ous natural and laboratory sources using an iron calorim eter detector. By and by, the underground facility could be used for research in other dis ciplines as well, such physics, biology and geology. Once completed, it will be the largest basic sciences project in India. What are neutrinos? They are elementary particles that usually travel close to the speed of light. They are similar to the more familiar electron, with one crucial difference: neutrinos do not carry electric charge. Because of this they are not affected by electromagnetic forces, making them pass through ordinary matter almost undisturbed. This makes neutrinos extremely difficult to detect. They are created as a result of radioactive decay or nuclear reactions such as those that take place in the Sun Why detect them? They hold the key to several important and fundamental questions on the origin of the universe and energy production in stars. The INO project will also help detailed investigation of the structure of the earth from the core onwards, for neu trinos are the only particles that can probe earth's deep interiors Who are involved in INO project? Nearly 25 institutions and about 90 scientists, with Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, being the host institution. This is a first of its kind collabo ration in the country NEUTRINO t OBSERVATORY THE INO PROPOSAL CONSISTS OF CREATING TWO s n UNDERGROUND LAB CAVERNS WITH A | 1,000-METRE ROCK COVER TO HOUSE DETECTORS el AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT. A 2-KM LONG ACCESS TUNNEL WILL BE DRILLED UNDER THE HILL TO REACH THE CAVERNS