Delhi CM Kejriwal to inaugurate India's first smog tower today. Details here
PremiumIndia's first smog tower: The Delhi cabinet had approved the pilot project in October last year
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will today inaugurate the country's first smog tower at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place, said Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai. The over 20-metre-tall structure, being set up to improve air quality in a radius of around 1 km, will "operate at full capacity" after the monsoon season, the minister told reporters.
"Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal will inaugurate the smog tower on August 23," he tweeted. Rai thoroughly inspected the progress of the project on the ground on Thursday.
"I am certain that the smog-tower built at the cost of ₹20 crores will contribute immensely towards this cause. The smog tower will work with full force after the monsoon season. The scientists of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee will accordingly assess the performance of the tower and present a monthly report," ANI quoted Gopal Rai as saying.
The Delhi cabinet had approved the pilot project in October last year.
Another 25-metre-tall smog tower, built by the central government at Anand Vihar, is expected to become operational by August 31, officials of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said.
The two towers will have 1,200 air filters each developed by experts at the University of Minnesota in the United States — which also helped design a 100-metre-high smog tower in Xian, China.
The Supreme Court had in January last year directed the central government to construct a smog tower to reduce pollution at Anand Vihar, and the Delhi government to install another such structure at Connaught Place in three months.
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