Explained: What are the Smog Towers, BJP has promised to install

New Delhi, Jan 28: After engaging with a new initiative called "ChaupalonTwitter" which is a new initiative to encourage more civic discussion and participation between communities and their leaders Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Sunday said his party will install 60 smog towers if it wins the upcoming February 8 state assembly polls.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India has 6 of the top 10 most polluted cities on the world with Delhi on the top of the list.

1.2 million people die every year in India due to air pollution, stated a Greenpeace report.

Recently Delhi govt took initiative to address the grave issue and planned to install smog tower in the national capital.

What is Smog Tower

Smog Towers are designed to function as large-scale air purifiers. With the structure of 40X20 ft on each side, a smog tower requires around 30x30 metres.

The tower has multiple layers of filters that can filter air pollutants which pass through the tower.

It is said that a smog tower is able to provide clean air to 75,000 people living in the 3 kilometre radius around it.

How Smog Towers filter polluted air

• The giant device absorbs the polluted air, purifies the air through its multiple layers and re-circulated into the atmosphere.
• The tower takes air from 360-degree angles and generates 1,300,000 cubic metres of clean air per hour.
• With the filters made of carbon nanofibres as a major component is able to clean up to 99.99 per cent Particulate Matter (PM) present in the air.

Cost of the air purifier

A smog tower costs around Rs. 10 to 13 crores including the construction cost.

Though one of the main aspects is to find a suitable location.

Delhi has one Smog Tower 10 years back

In 2010, Delhi has experimented with a smog tower which was installed in Connaught Place.

But after the first month, there has been no confirmation if the device still works.

Recently, on January 3, former cricketer and BJP MP from East Delhi inaugurated air purifier at Lajpat Nagar in Delhi which is capable of treating 6,00,000 cubic metres of air per day and can collect more than 75 per cent of particulate matters.

Lesson from China

China has been facing severe air pollution problem for years. The Chinese capital Beijing and the Xian province have installed two smog towers and witnessed a great success after installing the air purifiers in the years 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The tower of Xian is said to be the world largest smog tower and able to clean 10 million cubic metres of air daily.

Does India need Smog Towers

As cities in India are facing acute air pollution problem for years it is time to take a step ahead and bid for smog towers in each of the polluted cities as it has been proven that smog towers can be our saviour in the time of distress.