Bizarre water-saving scheme backfires

NEW DELHI: An Indian politician who attempted to cover a dam in sheets of polystyrene has been left red-faced after his bizarre water-saving scheme backfired. Tamil Nadu state minister Sellur K Raju waded into the dam with dozens of sheets of polystyrene, convinced they could help reduce water evaporation in the drought-stricken state. But the noble yet puzzling effort went belly-up almost immediately as strong winds lifted the lightweight sheets into the air, tossing them across the surface of the water. Footage of last Friday’s incident showed officials in rowing boats pursuing the airborne sheets, while others used rocks to try and keep them in place. Elsewhere broken chunks of the white polymer plastic, stuck together with coloured tape, were seen washed up on the dam banks. The minister defended the hare-brained scheme — which reportedly cost one million rupees ($15,500) — saying he had been told “thermocol technology” could reduce water evaporation. “I learnt about this (technology) from a source,” he told reporters, without elaborating. — AFP