Smog tower in Connaught Place to come up by August 15: Gopal Rai
Another such tower is being set up by the Centre, at east Delhi’s Anand Vihar, under the expertise of the Central Pollution Control Board. Both towers were earlier supposed to be built by June, but lockdown delays have slowed down construction work.
The Delhi government’s pet protect, the construction of a smog tower in Connaught Place, will be completed by August 15, environment minister Gopal Rai announced on Thursday.
Rai, who visited the site where a 25-metre-high smog tower is being constructed, said that the work had slowed down because of the Covid-19 lockdown but the pace of construction has picked up again.
“The country’s first smog tower is being set up here as a pilot project by the Delhi government. We surveyed the site today. Because of Covid-19, the work had slowed down and it should be sped up now. If this pilot project is successful, more such towers will be set up in Delhi,” Rai said.
He added, “The tower will be made functional by August 15 and its performance will be monitored by experts, based on which further plans will be made.”
The Delhi government is funding the construction of this smog tower, which is being built on directions of the Supreme Court on a budget of ₹20 crore by its private partners, Tata Projects Limited.
IIT-Bombay is providing technical support to the project in collaboration with IIT-Delhi, and the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) is a project management consultant.
Another such tower is being set up by the Centre, at east Delhi’s Anand Vihar, under the expertise of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Both towers were earlier supposed to be built by June, but Covid-19 induced lockdown delays have slowed down completion.
Officials said that both the towers will use 1,200 air filters, developed by a team of experts at the University of Minnesota in the United States.
“The towers are estimated to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 (ultrafine particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) by 50% to 70% in an about one-kilometre radius around them,” the Delhi government said in a statement on Thursday.
Each tower would have 40 fans and 40 noise control devices and would cover an area of 28 square metres. Air would be pulled in from the top of the towers, passed through the filters and released at the bottom, officials added.