GMDA plans to install 42 new air purifiers in Old Gurugram to curb pollution

The areas in focus see high pollution levels due to heavy vehicular movement and dust, said Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials on Thursday

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is planning to install 42 new air purifiers in parts of Old Gurugram at the earliest, which see high pollution levels due to heavy vehicular movement and dust. The move came in a bid to reduce air pollution levels in the areas, said GMDA officials.

71 air purifiers have been installed in different parts of Gurugram, particularly in new sectors, said officials. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

Air purifiers help in reducing pollution levels in surrounding areas, and 71 such purifiers have been installed in different parts of the city, particularly in new sectors, they added.

Subash Yadav, additional chief executive officer (CEO), GMDA, said on Thursday that they are planning to install these purifiers in areas such as Old Railway road, New Railway road, Sheetla Mata road, Palam Vihar to railway station road, Rezangla Chowk, and Old Delhi-Gurgaon road under phase II of the project ‘Air Care’.

“We have installed 71 purifiers in several areas of the city, but most of these were in newer sectors across the highway. We will now install these purifiers across Old Gurugram to curb the air pollution levels there,” said Yadav.

He also said that these air purifiers are being installed in collaboration with the Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA), a Delhi-based NGO which is taking care of the installation and maintenance of the same. “Vehicular pollution is very high in Delhi-NCR (national capital region), and that is why the move is much-needed,” he said.

IPCA, which conducted a study on particulate matter concentrations near 53 outdoor air purifiers installed by the GMDA, said that the devices were able to reduce dust pollution by 35-50% in its immediate vicinity i.e. in 500 square metres.

Radha Goel, deputy director of IPCA, said in a statement that these purifiers are fitted with exhaust fans and work on filtration technology. IPCA will operate and maintain these purifiers for the next three years, Goel said.

Air quality experts, however, said that smog towers or outdoor air purifiers -- like the ones installed -- may not be effective in open areas as there are no barriers (psychometric or physical) to control the direction of clean air. “The velocity of clean air from these towers are not enough to hold or reach to a distance with dominant atmospheric resistance factors, and even a wind speed of five to seven kilometres per hour will overpower this so-called filtered or treated air,” said Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality expert.