Delhiites, rejoice, because your city’s first smog tower has finally become operational! Yes, you read that right! Following high pollution levels in the capital city in November 2019, The Supreme Court had asked the Centre and the Delhi government to come up with a road map on installing smog towers in the national capital region (NCR) to combat air pollution. Now, less than 2 months later we finally have a 20-feet-tall device installed to purify the air at South-Delhi’s popular Lajpat Nagar Central Market, which sees an average footfall of nearly 15,000 people daily.
How does the tower work?
Taking inspiration from China, which has experimented with the technology of smog towers, the first smog tower in New Delhi is fitted with exhaust fans to suck in polluted air. As reported by Hindustan Times, the tower can remove up to 80% of the particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10) — the primary pollutant in Delhi’s air and can purify the air within a circumference area of up to 750 metres.
Who has installed this tower
As per Hindustan Times, according to the Lajpat Nagar Traders’ Association, the tower has been installed in an open area above a covered drain in the market by the trader’s body with the help of east Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir. The equipment cost of the tower is known to have come up to 7 lakh which has been taken care of by the Gautam Gambhir Foundation while the market association will bear the running cost of the device, which would be around Rs 30,000 per month.
Featured Image Source: Desdemonadespair.com/Hindustan Times
