To fight with the rising pollution in the national capital, the New Delhi Municipal Council on Monday introduced anti-smog guns, with the first of its kind machine installed in the famous Central Park at Connaught Place.
The NDMC said the pollution levels spiked up considerably after the successive lockdowns ended in the national capital, bringing more people and vehicles out on streets.
The municipal body termed the “Anti-Smog Gun’ as a “machine which can reduce pollution”.
All you need to know about Anti-Smog gun:
An NDMC official said that this device is designed to reduce air pollution by spraying atomised water into the atmosphere so that dust and pollution particles are cleared from the environment and the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 is reduced.
PM2.5 are ultra-fine particles that can enter the lungs and bloodstream and are the most prominent pollutant in Delhi-NCR as well as in other major cities across the country. PM10 particles are coarser, with a diameter of 10 microns. The Air Quality Index reading of Delhi on Monday was 72, which is in the satisfactory category.
Chairperson of the NDMC, Dharmendra along with Amit Singla, secretary, and other officials of the civic body inaugurated the machine.
The machine reportedly costs Rs 13 lakh and can cover an area measuring up to 27,000 to 37,000 square metres (sqm). This cannon-like dust suppression machine can help reduce pollution by spraying atomised water into the atmosphere, according to officials.
As per a study of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the pollution level in Delhi-NCR, which had come down by at least 79% during the initial phase of the lockdown, registered a comeback with the city reopening in the fourth phase of the lockdown May-end. Of the six megacities, where PM2.5 levels were studied during this period, Delhi had seen the steepest rise (4-8 times), as compared to other cities (2-6 times), an analysis by CSE showed.
Experts, however, expressed doubts over the success of the anti-smog gun.
It has been set up on trial basis to see how successful it is basis which more such machines may or may not be installed.
