An off-the-cuff remark by Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Y.S. Chowdary that Hyderabad has the potential to create political tsunamis created a flutter, at least for a few moments, at a function here on Friday.
He made the remark in a lighter vein at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in the presence of his senior colleague and Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan when the latter delivered the inaugural speech at a national seminar on tsunami early warning system. During his speech, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said he was not aware of the existence of INCOIS till he took over the portfolio recently.
“Initially, I wondered why the institution is located in Hyderabad which is far away from the coastline but Secretary to the Ministry Shailesh Nayak explained to me that INCOIS was strategically located in Hyderabad which was less vulnerable to earthquakes as it is earthquakes which cause tsunamis when occurred in the ocean depths,” the Union Minister said.
ADVERTISEMENT
There was silence for few moments before the hall erupted into laughter when Mr. Chowdary intervened and said: “Hyderabad may not have the problem of tsunamis but it has the potential to create political tsunamis. Political tsunamis occur here and we have witnessed them in the past.”