No one doubts the Himalayan glaciers are melting at an abnormally fast pace. Till now it was assumed this was the impact of global warming. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, however, has a completely different spin on it. While releasing a report on the issue, he is quoted as having said the government would focus on “studying the glaciers from the scientific point of view rather than looking at the issue from political angle”.
It is difficult to understand what that means, but it would be interesting to see whether the minister says he has been misquoted on this one as well.
Some months ago, the minister was in Bhopal and, as he touched the toxic waste left behind by Union Carbide, he was quoted as saying he was still alive — a clear attempt to mock those campaigning for getting Carbide/Dow Chemicals to pay for the damage it had caused. It is a pity Ramesh is ruining his record as an efficient minister with such ill-thought one-liners.
S Gupta, Gurgaon
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