NDMC installs anti-smog gun in Connaught Place to reduce pollution

According to the statement, the anti-smog gun has a ‘throw distance’ of 100 metres with the size of water droplets ranging between 30 microns and 50 microns that could cover an area between 27,000 square metres and 37,000 square metres.

With an aim to reduce the air pollution level, which increased after lockdown norms were relaxed, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Monday installed an ‘anti-smog gun’ in Central Park, Connaught Place.

An Anti Smog Gun has been installed by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) at Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi on Monday. The machine was inaugurated by Dharmendra, chairman, NDMC. (HT Photo)

According to NDMC officials, it is a pilot project and more such machines will be installed if this trial is successful.

An NDMC official said that this device is designed to reduce air pollution by spraying atomised water into the atmosphere so that dust and pollution particles are cleared from the environment and the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 is reduced.

PM2.5 are ultra-fine particles that can enter the lungs and bloodstream and are the most prominent pollutant in Delhi-NCR as well as in other major cities across the country. PM10 particles are coarser, with a diameter of 10 microns. The Air Quality Index reading of Delhi on Monday was 72, which is in the satisfactory category.

“The anti-smog gun is designed to create an ultra-fine fog, comprising very fine water droplets (less than 10-micron in size). These tiny water droplets will be spread over a sizeable area with the help of a high-speed fan, which can absorb even the smallest dust particles in the air,” an NDMC statement read.

NDMC chairman Dharmendra inaugurated the machine in the presence of the secretary of NDMC Amit Singla.

According to the statement, the anti-smog gun has a ‘throw distance’ of 100 metres with the size of water droplets ranging between 30 microns and 50 microns that could cover an area between 27,000 square metres and 37,000 square metres. The cost of the machine is Rs13 lakh and it will be operated by a wired remote control system.

As per a study of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the pollution level in Delhi-NCR, which had come down by at least 79% during the initial phase of the lockdown, registered a comeback with the city reopening in the fourth phase of the lockdown May-end. Of the six megacities, where PM2.5 levels were studied during this period, Delhi had seen the steepest rise (4-8 times), as compared to other cities (2-6 times), an analysis by CSE showed.

Experts, however, expressed doubts over the success of the anti-smog gun.

Shambhavi Shukla, programme officer, air pollution, CSE said that while it might suppress or settle the pollutants for some time, it was not a long-term solution.

“Such machines may suppress smaller particles like PM2.5 over a small area for a certain time, but they are not a long-term solution. The only way out is to control the sources of pollution. We also have to see how much water they would consume and how long they would be able to control the smog or smaller particles because their effects wear out quickly,” Shukla said.