NEW DELHI: To check rising air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government has launched a pilot project that uses drones to spray water. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday that pollution levels are higher than normal at 13 hotspots in the city.
To effectively reduce pollution in these areas, a demonstration of water spraying by drones was conducted on Friday at Anand Vihar — a pollution hotspot. Rai said the project is aimed at places other than roads within the hotspot areas.
Rai said that mobile anti-smog guns were already being used to spray water on roads. “If the pilot project is successful, it will help in spraying water in places other than roads within the hotspots,” the minister said.
“Our aim is to make the maximum use of modern technology to combat pollution,” said Rai. Each drone can carry up to 15 litres of water. A report on its effectiveness will be sent to the environment department and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.”
“The engineers from the Environment Department and DPCC will analyse the data and submit a report to us. If this project is successful, we will expand the drone spraying to other hotspots,” Rai added.
He stated that to address the problem of pollution during the winter season, the government on September 25 announced a winter action plan with 21 focus points. “One of the major initiatives under this plan is to reduce pollution at hotspots using drone technology,” Rai said.
The Delhi Winter Action Plan contains 21 points to reduce pollution.