Delhi's Pollution Fight: 'Anti-smog Gun' Trial Run Begins in Anand Vihar

New Delhi: Commuters at Delhi’s Anand Vihar Bus Terminal were treated to an unusual sight on Tuesday morning. A large, red cannon, connected to a water tank atop a lorry, started shooting a spray of water some 30 metres into the air, while a gaggle of reporters and camerapersons ran around trying not to get drenched.

This was the first trial of an ‘anti-smog’ gun, the latest piece of technology thought up to lower Delhi’s pollution levels.

Anand Vihar, consistently one of Delhi’s most polluted spot, was chosen for the a day long trial, to see if this machine could bring down the pollution levels -- in the “severe” category this morning -- at all. If so, it could be rolled out on the city’s street soon enough, said Delhi’s environment minister Imran Hussain.

“The idea came about in a series of meetings, where even helicopters sprinkling water on the city were suggested,” he told News18.

This gun, however, has an international precedent. It was first used in China, in 2015, where the idea came from dust suppression machines used at construction sites. It could now possibly be deployed in Delhi’s worst areas.

The machine, explained a representative from Cloud Tech, the company that built it, mimics rain like conditions. It shoots fine water droplets into the air to combine them with dust particles and particulate matter, which then settles them down. Depending on the size of the gun and the water tank, it can shoot water anywhere from 30 to 100 metres. This makes it a highly water intensive machine, needing 30 litres per minute for a range of 30 metres.

However, Hussain said they will figure out the gun's water needs, if it proves to be practical. He stayed mum on the cost of the machine, and the number they would procure, saying it all depended on how the trial went on Tuesday.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee officials told News18 that water treated at sewage treatment plants (STPs) was one feasible option. They added that they were still deciding on the mechanics of it all -- what situations, what levels of pollutions and what areas could one break out the anti-smog gun in.

Delhi’s track record with large scale mechanical solutions is not the best. The outlandish idea of helicopters never took off, as equipping birds with such machines wasn’t possible. Officials with the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had told News18 that helicopters couldn’t be used to sprinkle water the way Delhi needed, they were mostly used to produce jets of water that douse fires.

Mechanical sweepers have hit the roads very haltingly, as most of the capital’s roads were smooth enough for the ones built initially for Commonwealth Game stadiums. Six mechanical sweepers were flagged off in July this year, with more procured in the subsequent months.