Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched India's first smog tower at Connaught Place in the national capital which will filter 1,000 cubic metres of air every second within a 1-kilometre radius. The idea for the pollution towers has been taken from China, which has tested similar technology in its capital Beijing and other cities. The Delhi government will investigate the impact of smog towers on pollution and may build more of them across the national capital.
Here are 10 things you should know about Delhi's new Smog Tower:
1.The 24.2-metre-tall structure has been built near the Shivaji Stadium metro station in Connaught Place. According to Hindustan Times, The overall cost of the project, including two years of running costs, is estimated to be approximately Rs. 20 crore.
2.Smog towers are huge buildings that serve as large-scale air cleaners. They have many layers of air filters and blowers at the bottom to suck in the polluted air and make it cleaner.
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3.The tower Kejriwal inaugurated on August 23 is a special construction designed to enhance air quality within the one-kilometer radius of the tower.
4.After entering the smog tower, the contaminated air is cleaned by the many sections installed inside the tower before being re-circulated into the atmosphere.
5.At the bottom of the tower, 40 fans have been placed. Air will be drawn in from the top of the tower, filtered, and discharged via the bottom fans.
6.The tower is part of a pilot programme to evaluate the decrease of particle air pollution in metropolitan areas using 'air cleaning.' IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay will conduct the two-year pilot project. The two institutes are the project's technical advisors.
7.Another similar tower has being built in Anand Vihar, one of the national capital's most polluted areas. The 25-meter-tall tower is scheduled to open by the end of August.
8.Following high pollution levels in the national capital, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the Delhi government in November 2019 to develop a strategy for constructing smog towers in the national capital region (NCR) to battle air pollution.
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9.Tata Projects Limited (TPL) developed both towers with technical help from IIT Bombay and in conjunction with IIT Delhi.
10.The Connaught Place smog tower would be able to filter 1,000 cubic metres of air every second. It has been made functional months before the national capital's pollution levels rose owing to farmers' burning of agricultural waste.
