17 Sept 2007

i agree with the Left and the Right but ...

It was Victor Hugo who said
"Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come"
but what can one say about the two ideas
that have been hogging the limelight recently
the Nuclear Deal and the Sethusamdram Project ?

one is supposed to solve our energy crisis
the other is supposed to cut our journey from Mumbai to Vizag by 30 hours

of course the Left and the Right have been arguing about each of them
protesting about how in the nuclear deal we are selling are soul
while the Ram Setu is the very soul of India

its funny
i agree with both of them (that the projects have problems)
but my reasons are different

in the case of the nuclear deal
we are going to use a technology that is
no longer used in the US
(it has stopped building nuclear reactors for almost 25 years)
and has serious issues of environmental damage

it makes perfect sense to invest thousands of crores
in finding better ways
to popularize solar energy
in a country that has 300 days of sunshine
if all our household needs are met by solar energy
then we do not need new power plants

the canal
on the other hand can completely damage
the coral reef that actually protects the coastal
areas around the tip of the country

in fact one of the reasons why the tsunami
that hit India and Sri Lanka
weakened when it came around to other side
yes it can lessen the time taken to travel
but is this the only option ?

why is it that in this country
we are still obsessed about large projects
with big investments
when there are alternatives available?

here are two ideas whose time has come and gone
we do not need them anymore.....

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