Cities that Spew poison
Prior to ascending the Delhi throne Modi had presented a rather peculiar idea of development in one of his speeches. He went for Bullet train, precisely based on this vision.
According to his concept, whether people need it or not, India should have a bullet train, even if people don’t travel; it doesn’t matter.The world will take notice of India. China adopted the same strategy; it showcased Shanghai and showcased to the world that China is developed.” Or so went the logic. Modi subsequently preoccupied himself with impressing the world than taking up real development work.The so called ‘Gujarat Model’ is also part of this strategy; let us not forget. Hence Modi focused on cities.
He made news with ‘Smart city’ fantasy. He intensified the illusory idea of urban centered development by leaving out the rural. Thus we see a great divide between Urban India and Rural India. Rural India is paying for the welfare and needs of the urban. However it is being lost out in its share of development.
Today the cities are getting 24X7 electricity, while rural farmers are denied of this. Urbanites are the true beneficiaries of rivers that traverse through villages! In summer to secure the supply of water for industries and city dwellers state prohibits farmers from using the river water. In cities huge residential complexes have gobbled up the very lakes that nourished these cities. Though farmers are growers of food, the real beneficiaries are urban dwellers.
According to this development paradigm, Cities are the crowning glory of the country, but these have become cancerous lumps to the country. On the one hand the seekers of luxurious life prefer cities, on the other farmers who want to escape from the agrarian crisis are flocking the cities as cheap labor. Slums right at the feet of the icons of development, like the proverbial darkness at the bottom of a lamp.
The same cities which Modi used to impress the world as markers of development have become an embarrassment internationally. India is home to 14 of the most polluted cities cited globally. The true irony being that the capital city of Delhi is among the worst polluted metropolis.
WHO released its report after studying 4300 cities in 108 countries. Delhi has the dubious distinction of occupying the No.1 place in air pollution. Mumbai too is not far behind. The study takes note of the account the air pollution as a major indicator. Not only Delhi and Mumbai , but other cities like Kanpur, Faridabad, Varanasi, Gaya, Patna, Lucknow too have found their way into this dubious list of polluted cities. Delhi has witnessed series of forced holidays to schools and colleges due to this deadly air pollution. Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi CM who goes around coughing with a scarf around him, has become a metaphor of the situation of Delhi.
After Delhi, country is heavily dependent on Mumbai. This metropolis has welcomed the labor of every region and caste. The city has degenerated so much that none of the city railway stations can handle the pressure of the populace. Half an hour of rain is enough to knock the city out of commission. Notoriety of Mumbai rains is such that the city is yet to recover from such a downpour last year. The development induced pollution coupled with a huge influx of people has worsened the air quality in Mumbai.
It is ironic that the constituency that Modi represents, Varanasi too is in the list of most polluted cities. It seems to challenge the pet campaign of Modi, ‘Swach Bharath’ The notion that the cities identified with religious places are cleaner is a misplaced one. Cities like Varanasi are classic examples of unbridled pollution. Ganga has been polluted beyond redemption by the devotees. The industrial effluents and religious ‘effluents’ are equally contributing in polluting the holy river. Varanasi is, today considered as the notorious city that has polluted both its air and water.
Cities have become a labyrinth. Man seems to be caught in the middle without a way of getting out. The chimneys that spew poison, polluted air and water are the outcomes of the very paradigm of development we pursued. A developmental paradigm that seems to be preoccupied with the notion that profiteering will make us ignore the air we breathe or water we drink and the values attached to it. Eventually this may prove to be a suicidal.
Cities that think selfishly of their own luxury and needs by forgetting the villages should be reminded that their survival depends on the survival of the villages. There should be some balance between cities and villages. Development should spread and expand equitably. If we pursue a development that wrecks our land, water or air, then the situation won't’ be better than the man who slit the goose that laid the golden egg.
In the near future our cities may be declared as unfit for human habitation, and people may as well be forced to return to villages for survival, the govt better pay attention to make these villages livable.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
