After Delhi, smog gun vehicles will be used in city to tackle air pollution

Mumbai plans to use vehicle-mounted 'anti-smog guns' to spray water in an effort to settle dust in areas with poor air quality. The city's civic body is inviting tenders to purchase eight units of the anti-smog guns, which have previously been used in Delhi and Noida. Environmentalists question their efficacy, but officials say they are a temporary measure for quick relief. The city has also set up a three-level task force in each ward to address air pollution, with teams targeting construction site dust, road works, and sites with fires or garbage burning.

Mumbai: Taking a cue from Delhi, vehicle-mounted ‘anti-smog guns’ will soon do the rounds in the city, spraying water in a fine mist in an endeavour to get suspended dust to settle in areas where the Air Quality Index (AQI) is poor. The civic body is in the process of inviting tenders in a couple of days to purchase eight units of anti-smog guns, which will go around the city sprinkling fine water droplets in the air.

BMC to get eight anti-smog gun vehicles for Mumbai for seven zones to mitigate dust pollution mainly in areas with poor Air Quality Index. (HT Photo)

Using the anti-smog guns is one of the measures taken by the solid waste management department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to control air pollution, Minesh Pimple, deputy municipal commissioner (environment), said.

Recently, anti-smog guns were used in Noida after the demolition of Supertech’s illegal twin towers on August 28, 2022. “It is already being used in Delhi. This will be the first of its kind in Mumbai,” said Pimple. Anti-smog gun is a propeller gun connected to a water tank mounted onto a vehicle, which spews fine nebulised water droplets that absorb small dust particles and settle on the ground. It is designed to convert water into a fine spray with a droplet size of 50-100 microns using high-pressure propellers. While environmentalists question the efficacy of smog cannon vehicles, a civic official stated that it is a temporary measure for quick relief. On March 28, the BMC had set standard operating procedures (SOPs) to set up a three-level task force in each ward. So far, only three wards, namely P North ward in Malad West, H West in Bandra West, and K West in Andheri-Juhu wards, have submitted their reports based on the initial survey for July and August.

The task force comprises three teams each, which are already formed in all 24 wards as per the air pollution mitigation plan. “These teams will target construction site dust, ongoing BMC road works, and sites with fires or garbage burning,” a civic official said.