Once bitten

Jairam Ramesh’s designation as rural development minister ensures that he regularly travels to the interiors of the country. But his travel schedule appears to far exceed that of his predecessors — whether it is pillion-riding on scooters to remote panchayats in Naxal-infested areas or discussing drinking water projects in Agartala. In the first week of July, for instance, he visited three states. Indeed, finding him in the capital is always a challenge so it was some surprise to discover that he recently took three days of leave. Then it turned out that the break was enforced, because he had been felled by bad bite from a wild insect in Jharkhand.