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Games people play

  • 29/09/2001

Games people play Powerful lobbies with vested interests often make interesting games, though often at the cost of public health. The way in which the moves to scuttle the Supreme Court (sc) orders have unfolded gradually at different levels is amazing. And with the sc standing firm, the disinformation campaign of these vested interests, having reached a feverish pitch, betrays a feeling of almost desperation. Trying their best to project a bogey of chaos out of their own imagination more and more, they have jumped on to the bandwagon of the saboteurs. How does public health matter to them anyway?

First there was the bogey of global warming. Next was, if no country in the world has so many cng buses, why should we? How does it matter that Delhi has the worst air pollution levels in the world and it citizens spend about Rs 1,000 crore every year on health costs? The political leadership was never known for its eagerness to implement clean technologies. Followed the grave warning about cng vehicles emitting more ultrafine particles. Then came the revelation that a Euro II diesel bus fitted with a particulate trap and running on ulsd is much better than cng . This moved on to the claim that particulate traps can operate even on the diesel available in Delhi. mpng also got enlightened that all countries are using 500 ppm sulphur diesel, so why not ask the sc to declare it as a clean fuel? By a different stroke of strategy, the detractors doled out

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