General public hold science in good regards, unlike govts: Expert

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: National Science Day is celebrated to mark C V Raman's discovery of the Raman effect. The day also calls for promoting scientific temper and application.

Science, as it is known, depends only on evidence and is common and visible to everyone.

However, despite holding its relevance amongst the general public, scientists feel that gover nments sideline scientific approach to favour political compulsions.

Ashish Verma, Convenor of Sustainable Transportation Lab, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) felt the general public holds science in good regards.

"In my experience here, citizens show good scientific temper and demand scientific solutions," he said, underscoring its importance in his domain of transportation.

"The decision makers of today however, do not show the same.With the recently proposed tunnel road in Mekhri Circle towards the International Airport, the government is departing from sustainable development to favour infrastructure lobbies," he claimed.

The plan, if materialised, will also impact the air quality, and eventually the quality of life, according to Verma.

Businesses and real estate companies look to develop the ever expanding city of Bengaluru, However, Verma says that the same ignore the consequences it poses to the environment and ecology.

"These businesses don't seem to consider the ecology of the land that they construct on. With deforestation continuing to this day, there is a flawed understanding of science," he said.

On the future of science, Verma underscored the pressing issue of climate change. "It is sad that governments across the world tend to ignore this issue, the consequences will be huge, and will lead to conflict," Verma said.