NEW DELHI: The Rs 23-crore smog tower in Connaught Place, Delhi’s first such facility, has failed to be operational at a time when the city is grappling with the season’s worst air pollution incidence. The entry gate to the smog tower was found locked on Friday with no security personnel in attendance.
The smog tower which was installed 2 years ago amid fanfare by the AAP government as a measure to purify toxic air has remained non-operational for the last 7 months. The air quality in several parts of the national capital plummeted under the ‘severe’ category on Friday.
It was expected that the tower would have played an instrumental role in reducing pollution in its vicinity. Even so, it has been shut down arbitrarily on the orders of Delhi Pollution Control Committee Chairman Ashwani Kumar, says Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday.
The smog tower, if operational can purify air in a 1-km radius around the structure. It is the country’s first smog tower installed as a pilot project in the city with the ability to purify around 1,000 cubic metres of air per second.
The pilot project which was inaugurated by CM Arvind Kejriwal in 2021 has turned into oblivion at a time when it was most needed.