Smog Tower Installation - To Help Delhi Breathe Easier

Latest Update- 05/01/2023

The average performance of the pollution tower installed in Connaught Place in August of last year is about 70%-80% at a range of 50 meters and drops to 15-20% at a distance of 300 meters according to Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday.

The minister added that specialists from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, IIT Bombay, and Delhi had done a study on the performance of the tower for the previous year both during winter and summer. The minister visited the smog tower on Friday. He further stated that the administration had received the experts' report.

According to Rai, the specialists will continue their studies for another year. They have turned in their first-year report. After two years the researchers will submit a final report that will include any improvements that should be made to the tower to maximize its effectiveness. The installation of the tower in Connaught Place cost Rs. 20 crores. Our teams are currently working to lower the price for more towers that may be installed in the city, the executive continued.

Even so, experts have opined that smog towers are not a long-term solution to Delhi's air pollution issue and that not only would people need to live extremely close to the smog tower in order to breathe clean air but thousands of such towers would also need to be installed all through the city in order to bring about a change in the air quality.

Gautam Gambhir a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party installed the first pollution tower in Delhi near the popular Lajpat Nagar market in January 2020. Gambhir added two more putting them in the Krishna Nagar and Gandhi Nagar marketplaces. Equally sized and technologically advanced to the Connaught Place tower which was created by the Centre in keeping with Supreme Court orders Delhi has a pollution tower in Anand Vihar. In partnership with German businesses, the Aga Khan Trust of Culture installed a pollution tower inside the Sunder Nursery last month.

Last Updated- 07/09/2021

Given how there are various data sources available across the globe about the cities in North India that are under serious threat from air pollution. How it affects our standard of living human resources and life expectancy and kills millions each year. The government has decided a launch a campaign called the “National Clean Air Program” to help the citizens breathe easily, especially those who breathe toxic air. The Delhi Government targeted Anand Vihar since it is one of the most polluted areas in the city. Built by the Tata Company, the smog tower has a capacity of 1000 cubic meters per second the smog towers work on the principle of sucking in air filtering it with multiple layers of purifiers and releasing back cleaner air. This model of functioning is known as the downdraft air-flow model. 

The smog tower at Anand Vihar is not the first other that has been installed in Connaught Place to check pollution and reduce the toxicity in the air. The towers built by Tata are in association with the technical teams of IIT Bombay and in collaboration with IIT Delhi. The scientists are expected to note down data collected post-installation for the next two years so as to check how much reduction in pollution is observed. Looking at the condition of Delhi these measures are necessary since the particulate matter toxic air pollution levels in Delhi are among the top in the world and can cause severe damage to the lungs.