I spent 14 long childhood years in Silvassa before I left to study engineering at Chennai. Vapi used to be the closest railway station which connected us to the rest of the world. Even then, the air of Vapi had a distinctive stench of chemicals that would make you feel sick. I remember my schoolteachers telling us that breathing Vapi's air for 5 minutes is equivalent to smoking one cigarette. I wonder what took so long to arrive at this conclusion, perhaps a brave environment minister?
But the big question that still remains to be answered, what now? One has to see Vapi to believe how environmental pollution, primarily air and water, has engulfed this town. How come Narendra Modi has not uttered a word on this given how ardent a supporter he is of unabashed industrialization? Will Jairam Ramesh, having displayed the courage to accept this fact, do something to bring about a change in Vapi and many such industrial towns that dot the length and breadth of this country?
