New Delhi: A ‘smog tower’ is being planned for Delhi as an experiment. It would create a “clean air zone” around with an estimated 50% reduction in particulate matter, experts involved in the project said.
The move came out after on Monday, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the Delhi government to draw up a comprehensive plan in 10 days to install ‘smog towers’ across the capital to deal with air pollution.
The project is being headed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in collaboration with IIT-Delhi and the University of Minnesota.
In Delhi, the 20-metre high tower would trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air. “Large-scale air filters will be used in the towers, which will draw in the air through fans installed at the top before passing it through the filters and releasing it near the ground,” said an IIT-B expert, in-charge of the project.
An estimate made by project experts of the tower’s impact on air quality shows it would reduce 50% of the particulate matter load in an area 1 km in the direction of the wind, as well as 200 metres each along the sides of the tower and against the direction of the wind.
The project is estimated to cost around Rs 12-13 crore rupees.
