Trust the Ministers (and their equivalents) in UPA 2 administration to shoot off their mouths and get ridiculed - Shashi Tharoor to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, it is par for the course. The point is not the Ministers are popping nonsense - one could say nonsensical thinking is what the public expect from the politicians.
The issue of concern is, at times they correctly identify the problem, but opt for wrong solution. For all the furor about petrol price increase, the media managers of UPA 2 lost a big opportunity to turn it around as an ‘eco-friendly’ decision.
Back when the GoI decided to hand over the ‘price-fixing’ decision to the Oil Companies, the US and Euro were grappling the question of oil shocks and ‘green tax’ on vehicles to reduce consumption.
If we care to remember, there was a big hue and cry about Hummers in US and how California is leading the green initiative. It is a different story that fracking and shale-oil have take over that debate and reduced the anxiety level on emissions today.
The point is, if the GoI had egged on the homegrown Greens, with grudging support from government machinery, there probably could have been a public outcry (or an awareness at the least) on emissions and need to control them. It would then have been easier in that context to raise fuel prices. Just as expected the wise-men in the know dropped the ball.
It seems they are honour bound to do it again - drop the ball - that is. Once the subject of closing petrol pumps to reduce consumption and thereby oil import bill has been broached, they should have gone ahead with a full fledged debate. Instead the UPA 2 is suddenly wobbling in its knees.
Actually there is no need to. It is time to tell the nation that we need to consume less Petrol (& Diesel). Let us see 2 examples which I witness everyday - probably you do too.
Every morning, out of perhaps 300 people out to fetch milk at my local Aavin milk booth, at least 50 to 70 do so by riding their bike. None of these people live more than half-a-kilometer or at the extreme 750 yards from the milk booth. Tell me, is there such a pressing urgency in the early morning that fetching milk requires a bike? Can it be not done almost as quickly, in a more healthy and eco-friendly manner on a bicycle?
Late mornings and early evenings well-fed womenfolk flock to the local gym for an hour of walking on the treadmill. No issues. But hilarity strikes when they come out and start their scooters to go back home. Again, they (must) all live within the 1/2 km radius and apart from the questions for the milk fetchers, there is a more puzzling issue. Tell me, would not these divine forms get in shape even quicker, if they walk this 1/2 km, instead of riding in to step on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym?
Thinking about such idiosyncrasies of the people, I wonder whether we ought to restrict the petrol pumps to 10 hours of operation - 5 hours each starting from 5, morning and evening.
(image courtesy Punch/ Leslie Illingworth 25 May 1945)
My mischievous half murmurs, ‘If they do that, you know what will happen? More Petrol Bombs / Molotov cocktails - as every biker will carry a spare bottle of petrol.’
To which my nasty half natters, ‘These guys (and gals) either have never heard of tank reserve or cannot read a petrol gauge!’
The issue of concern is, at times they correctly identify the problem, but opt for wrong solution. For all the furor about petrol price increase, the media managers of UPA 2 lost a big opportunity to turn it around as an ‘eco-friendly’ decision.
Back when the GoI decided to hand over the ‘price-fixing’ decision to the Oil Companies, the US and Euro were grappling the question of oil shocks and ‘green tax’ on vehicles to reduce consumption.
If we care to remember, there was a big hue and cry about Hummers in US and how California is leading the green initiative. It is a different story that fracking and shale-oil have take over that debate and reduced the anxiety level on emissions today.
The point is, if the GoI had egged on the homegrown Greens, with grudging support from government machinery, there probably could have been a public outcry (or an awareness at the least) on emissions and need to control them. It would then have been easier in that context to raise fuel prices. Just as expected the wise-men in the know dropped the ball.
It seems they are honour bound to do it again - drop the ball - that is. Once the subject of closing petrol pumps to reduce consumption and thereby oil import bill has been broached, they should have gone ahead with a full fledged debate. Instead the UPA 2 is suddenly wobbling in its knees.
Actually there is no need to. It is time to tell the nation that we need to consume less Petrol (& Diesel). Let us see 2 examples which I witness everyday - probably you do too.
Every morning, out of perhaps 300 people out to fetch milk at my local Aavin milk booth, at least 50 to 70 do so by riding their bike. None of these people live more than half-a-kilometer or at the extreme 750 yards from the milk booth. Tell me, is there such a pressing urgency in the early morning that fetching milk requires a bike? Can it be not done almost as quickly, in a more healthy and eco-friendly manner on a bicycle?
Late mornings and early evenings well-fed womenfolk flock to the local gym for an hour of walking on the treadmill. No issues. But hilarity strikes when they come out and start their scooters to go back home. Again, they (must) all live within the 1/2 km radius and apart from the questions for the milk fetchers, there is a more puzzling issue. Tell me, would not these divine forms get in shape even quicker, if they walk this 1/2 km, instead of riding in to step on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym?
Thinking about such idiosyncrasies of the people, I wonder whether we ought to restrict the petrol pumps to 10 hours of operation - 5 hours each starting from 5, morning and evening.
(image courtesy Punch/ Leslie Illingworth 25 May 1945)
My mischievous half murmurs, ‘If they do that, you know what will happen? More Petrol Bombs / Molotov cocktails - as every biker will carry a spare bottle of petrol.’
To which my nasty half natters, ‘These guys (and gals) either have never heard of tank reserve or cannot read a petrol gauge!’
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