Two days in Delhi and I fall ill, says Gadkari
The Union minister holds transport sector responsible, asks why India can't have fuel alternatives
A serious take on the worsening state of pollution in Delhi came on Tuesday (December 23), none other than Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, who said the national capital's air is so severely toxic that he falls sick after spending just two days there. He also conceded that the transport sector is much responsible for such a situation.
Speaking at the launch of a book titled My Idea of Nation First - Redefining Unalloyed Nationalism, the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader revealed how his health is affected by the capital city's pollution level.
Also read: Delhi pollution: Eye drops, masks and nebulisers fly off the shleves
Gadkari, who is a staunch supporter of green energy initiatives in the transport sector and advocates adoption of alternative fuels, electric vehicles, and hydrogen power to reduce India's significant import of fossil fuel, which is one of the major contributors to pollution, raised the matter.
Linking Delhi's smog to the country's heavy dependence on petrol and diesel, Gadkari said the transport sector alone causes 40 per cent of Delhi's pollution. The 68-year-old Nagpur-born leader also connected the energy dependence with nationalism, opining that moving away from fossil fuels towards green-energy-based mobility was not just about environmental urgency but something related to nationalism.
The minister claimed India today spends Rs 20 lakh crore annually on importing fossil fuels and creates pollution at home. "What kind of nationalism is this?" he asked, wondering whether it is not possible to create an alternative scenario.
Also read: Why isn’t Delhi’s air pollution a Lok Sabha priority?
Emphasising that India already possessed the capacity to produce clener fuel alternatives at home and pointed to the increasing role that farmers play in producing energy, Gadkari said electric and hydrogen-run vehicles have become economically viable, and newer technologies were helping curb emissions and running expenses.
Pollution has emerged as a national crisis, with the air quality plummeting in many cities, besides Delhi. However, people have accused the politicians of ignoring the matter, putting the lives of the common man in danger.