International reporters were not allowed to accompany Vajpayee to the site. The attitude of residents from neighboring villages was less welcoming. Others demanded they be checked by doctors to ensure that their health hadn't been affected by the nuclear explosions. Vajpayee touring the area Vajpayee, wearing his standard white cotton clothes throughout his tour, drove past the demonstrators without stopping. At a later meeting in the small town of Pokaran, he said no radioactivity had been found after the test.
Local politicians say some nearby villagers became ill after the tests.
They report people suffering from nosebleeds, upset stomachs and vomiting. Officials say the ailments are related to summer heat, which is topping 120 degrees Farenheit or 49 degrees Celsius. A government spokesman, meanwhile, denied reports that a government medical team had been sent to the region to determine whether villagers had been affected by radiation. India's most recent tests involved miniature devices that can be used for missile warheads, as well as a huge, 43-kiloton device that was almost three times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The United States, Japan and other industrialized countries have imposed economic sanctions against India to strengthen their condemnation of Vajpayee's decision to go ahead with nuclear testing, fearing an arms race between India and arch-rival Pakistan.