Warning bells ringing loud

Two news of today morning should really ring loud alarm bells that India, on an urgent, SOS basis, needs to look after the environment and not pursue mindless growth or else we all will perish!

One news – the national pride, the Taj Mahal is turning from yellowish to green and black in some nooks and crevices due to pollution. For all the talk and money poured into the Yamuna for cleaning it up, nothing seems to have worked. The pollution of the river continues unabated near the monument and the drains around the site are clogged and industries continue to operation in violation of the top court’s 1996 verdict ordering a closure. 

The second news – the latest report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that 14 of the 20 most polluted cities in world are in India – this has gone up from 13 last year.

Apart from Delhi, the other cities are Mumbai, Varanasi, Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur followed by Ali Subah Al-Salem in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia.  We now hold the dubious distinction of Delhi being the most polluted city in the world and Mumbai’s air quality is worse than that of Beijing.

This report might not bother the Govt at all which is more concerned about growth and unmitigated growth only. Opening up the salt pan areas in Mumbai for making for buildings is a case to the very same point.

If we do not pay attention to these warning signals, India will become the sickest country in the world; at that time would the medal of being the fastest growing economy in the world matter?

Seriously, as we have said time and again, from trying to become a factory to the world with make in India, we should strive to become "Create in India" where India becomes the R&D hub of the world.