This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Ritu Rao, writer, INTACH consultant, and researcher on water sustainability. 

Sreenivasan just returned from Bihar, where he was reporting on the upcoming polls. When asked about whether Prashant Kishor’s packed rallies translates to real political influence, he says, “PK clearly has a traction. His rallies are packed, and he has a 26 percent approval rating as a CM candidate, according to C-Voter. But there’s still a gap between people drawn to him and people ready to vote for him.”

Manisha adds, “Even if people don’t want to vote for him, they’re interested in what he’s saying…he’s talking about education, young people, migrants not having to leave Bihar.”

Ritu then joins the panel to talk about the Chhath Puja controversy in Delhi and pollution in the Yamuna. She says the river is in such a state “because the people are allowing it to be, society has to decide not to accept an unclean river”. Abhinandan isn’t as sure, saying: “I always blame politicians, not people. The man who cleans the street doesn’t have as much power as I do with a podcast.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

The team also discusses how cities like London (Thames), Paris (Seine), and Chicago overcame river pollution with coordinated action:

Hafta letters: CJI interview, video thumbnails, Abhinandan’s replies on X