Delhi asks for choppers to sprinkle water over city to curb pollution

NEW DELHI: If you're walking on the streets of Delhi and suddenly sprinkled with water, don't be surprised.

In a effort to curb pollution and improve overall air quality, the AAP-led Delhi government requested the centre to allow the use of choppers and aircrafts for aerial water sprinkling across the national capital.

Sprinkling water will allow particulate matter and pollutants in the air to settle.

In a letter to the Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Monday said that Delhi is willing to bear the cost of aerial sprinkling of water across the national capital.

“As you are aware, with the onset of winter season, Delhi faces a critical phase of air pollution due to various reasons including stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab and haryana, bursting of crackers during Diwali etc. Adverse metrological conditions like calm wind conditions, low temperature etc, aggravates the pollution level especially the concentration levels of particulate matter namely PM2.5 and PM 10 in Delhi's ambient air. Therefore, abatement of air pollution in Delhi and NCR is one of the most important environment challenges that need to be tackled on urgent basis.”

Delhi has already enforced graded Response Action Plan till March 15, 2018.

“In view of the continuous poor air quality in Delhi, it is requested that your office may kindly propose to ministry of civil aviation to carry out an exercise to sprinkle water aerially through helicopter/aircraft to settle particulate matters in Delhi," said Hussain in the letter.

On October 20, a day after Diwali, Delhi's air turned 'severe' for the first time in 2017.