Faridabad gets ready for winter, five anti-smog guns soon

GURUGRAM: To deal with the air pollution this coming winter, the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) is now installing five anti-smog guns in Faridabad — two at the MCF headquarters at BK Chowk and Ballabhgarh and three at the MCF offices in sectors 11D, 16 and 31.

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The city would get two additional anti-smog guns on vehicles, which the corporation would deploy at different locations depending on where they are most needed.

According to the MCF officials, the anti-smog guns on the buildings would sprinkle water in the surrounding atmosphere within a 20-metre radius, helping bring down pollution, and fall in the small category.

Meanwhile, the vehicles will get the big anti-smog guns, which can sprinkle water within a 50-metre radius. The small ones cost nearly Rs 35 lakh rupees while the big ones cost approximately Rs 1.5-1 crore. “Work has started, and we hope to control pollution in Faridabad using these guns,” said a senior MCF official.

Every winter, air pollution in Delhi-NCR touches hazardous levels because of a combination of adverse meteorological factors and local pollution sources such as construction and demolition waste, road dust, waste burning in the open, vehicular emissions and smoke from stubble burning.

MCF is setting up the anti-smog guns with funds it receives for being the only Haryana district on the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) list of non-attainment cities. These are the cities where the air did not meet the 2011-2015 national ambient air quality standards. The NCAP was launched in 2019 for such cities to bring a 20-30% reduction in pollution levels by 2024, using 2017 pollution levels as a base. The funds help Faridabad work towards comprehensive pollution mitigation measures, augmenting the air quality monitoring network and strengthening awareness and capacity-building activities.

According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) officials, last year, all project construction sites requiring environmental clearance from the state or central level and with a built-up area of over 20,000 sqm received instructions to use anti-smog guns during excavation.