Delhi gets first ‘smog tower’ to fight pollution but experts critical

dpa New Delhi New Delhi unveiled India’s first “smog tower” to combat pollution on Monday, but experts say the measure will not help improve poor air qual...

dpa New DelhiNew Delhi unveiled India’s first “smog tower” to combat pollution on Monday, but experts say the measure will not help improve poor air quality.The tower was inaugurated by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Connaught Place business district, months before pollution is expected to spike as farmers burn stubble nearby.The metropolis often registers severe pollution up to 20 times the limits deemed safe by the World Health Organization.Powered by 40 giant fans and 5,000 filters, the 24-metre smog tower will clean 1,000 cubic metres of air per second, improving air quality within a 1 square kilometre radius, Kejriwal said.He said the tower was an experimental project and more such towers would be installed if the initial results were promising.The tower costs 2.7 million dollars but scientists say installing smog towers citywide would be a waste of public money, particularly since their effectiveness is unproven.“Efforts to fight pollution would be effective if resources were deployed in mitigating pollution directly from the source... If this money was spent in tackling burning of waste, promoting electric vehicles, clean fuels in industry or eliminating cooking stoves that use solid fuels,” Anumita Roychowdhury of the Centre for Science and Environment said.China built the world’s biggest air purifier, a 100-metre smog tower in Xian in 2018, according to media reports.Pollution in Indian cities has long impacted residents’ health but the government has done little to check the worsening air quality.A study released by the Lancet medical journal linked pollution to 1.7 million deaths in India in 2019.