New Delhi: In an attempt to tackle the problem of air pollution, especially ahead of the winter months that have been characterised by heavy smog in the national capital over the past few years, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi installed a smog tower in the city Monday, which it claims is the first such in India.
According to the Delhi CM, the tower has been built using American technology and with the help of experts and scientists from the Indian Institutes of Technology.
बधाई दिल्ली। प्रदूषण के ख़िलाफ़ युद्ध में दिल्ली में देश के पहले स्मॉग टावर की शुरुआत की। अमेरिकी तकनीक से बना ये स्मॉग टावर हवा में प्रदूषण की मात्रा को कम करेगा।
पायलट आधार पर शुरू हुए इस प्रोजेक्ट के नतीजे बेहतर रहे तो पूरी दिल्ली में ऐसे और स्मॉग टावर लगाए जाएंगे। pic.twitter.com/gqgh0MzyuJ
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 23, 2021
The Delhi government has also put up hoardings in the city claiming it to be ‘India’s first smog tower’, and vowed to build more such towers across Delhi if the pilot project shows promising results.
India's first Smog Tower READY! ???
CM @ArvindKejriwal has reached Connaught Place to inaugurate it!#DelhiFightsPollution pic.twitter.com/4GgKeeWKSa
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) August 23, 2021
The tower, which is 24 metres in height, has been installed behind the Shivaji Stadium Metro station, near Connaught Place, and has the capacity to absorb polluted air from a distance of 1 km and can clean and release fresh air via 40 fans attached to the lower structure of the tower. It can release 1,000 cubic meters of clean air per second.
During the opening ceremony of the smog tower, Kejriwal said, “This is the first time such towers are being set up in India”.
Delhi gets India's first Smog Tower!
"This has been developed using American technology under the expert supervision of scientists from IITs. If this pilot project is successful, it will be replicated across Delhi"
– CM @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/igSZRIGc6W
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) August 24, 2021
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Fact Check
Several new reports in the past few days have, however, called out the Delhi CM for his false claims, and pointed out that the Kejriwal government is not the first to set up a smog tower in Delhi, let alone in India.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, a 20-ft tall smog tower was installed in Lajpat Nagar’s Central market by the Traders Association Lajpat Nagar, “with the help of” east Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir, in January last year. This smog tower has the capacity to clean 2,50,000 to 6,00000 cubic meters of polluted air per day.
Not Dilli ka malik who promised to install Air purifiers but it is @GautamGambhir, MP East Delhi sheer efforts who got Delhi its first Smog tower installed at Lajpat Nagar.
https://t.co/bhHirOfJa6
— BJP East Delhi (@EastDelhiBjp) January 3, 2020
Delhi gets first smog tower today: 5 things about the air purifier at Lajpat Nagar.
The smog tower has been installed by the Traders Association Lajpat Nagar . It will aim at treating 2,50,000 to 6,00000 cubic meter air per day and release fresh air in return.@iSinghApurva pic.twitter.com/IRDPknAEI0
— BJPRKPuram (@BJPforRKpuram) January 3, 2020
A similar smog tower was also set up by Nutan Labs, a nanotechnology-based startup, in Hudson Circle in Bengaluru in March this year. More such towers are expected to be installed in other areas in the city that experience heavy traffic flow.
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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