When a recent Central Pollution Control Board report revealed that water along several ghats of the Ganga was unfit for bathing during the Mahakumbh, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was quick to claim that the water was pure and even fit for drinking. He even alleged that those who raised concerns about the water quality were trying to defame the Ganga and the sacred Kumbh Mela.
Adityanath is one of many leaders to dismiss and ridicule concerns about environmental issues and their subsequent effect on people’s lives.
Former environment minister Prakash Javadekar had even claimed that there was no link between pollution and life expectancy. And not very long ago, our prime minister implied that climate change simply did not exist.
In this episode, Pooja Prasanna explains how the lack of political will to address the environment crisis has left several government pollution-related efforts and initiatives ineffective. She examines the implementation of several programmes announced to cut emissions and combat pollution, and underlines how the government not tackling the looming climate crisis head-on will affect India and its people.
Watch.
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