New Delhi: In view of the deadly pollution and smog that have encompassed the national capital, a giant air purifier has been installed in East Delhi and two more will be installed soon, BJP lawmaker Gautam Gambhir said on Thursday.
One of the air purifiers will be installed next week and the other in the week after that. These giant air purifiers are approximately 12 feet in size and cover an area of 1,000 sq mt. The fully automatic machines will deliver 2 lakh cubic metre of clean air every day.
In January this year, Gambhir had also inaugurated a first-of-its-kind giant air purifier in the heart of Lajpat Nagar’s Central Market which was seen as the pilot project.
Due to the positive response of the people in that area and demand from other vicinities, Gambhir is installing more air purifiers in markets across East Delhi.
The second giant air purifier will be installed at the Gandhi Nagar market which witnesses tremendous activity throughout the day and has a footfall of thousands of people.
In terms of technology, the new purifiers are more advanced and have additional features like high mast lights.
Speaking about the installation, Gambhir said, “I know that these air purifiers will not solve the problem completely, but something has to be done.”
“These air purifiers will have a major impact on people living in nearby areas. I don’t believe that getting yourself advertised on every traffic signal is the solution to such a major problem which affects each and every Delhiite especially our elders,” he added.
Gambhir also spoke about the haphazard approach of the Delhi government in handling such a major crisis even when it knew about stubble burning season in Punjab and despite having massive financial resources.
“All that the Kejriwal government has done is getting paid volunteers hold banners and placards at traffic signals for his personal advertisements. They spend hundreds of crores on television and print ads when the same amount could have been utilized in installing air purifiers, buying more sprinkler machines and even artificial rains,” he claimed.
“They have not even bothered to consult any major environment body to find new ways of fighting this deadly pollution,” Gambhir added.
The East Delhi MP also questioned the policy of banning firecrackers only a few days before major festivals. He asked the government why it doesn’t ban crackers throughout the year when it knows that the air quality of the city is bad.
“Why ban them only before festivals? They first gave licenses to traders for traditional and green crackers and then banned them as an ad hoc measure. This led to tremendous losses for the shopkeepers and traders in the time of the pandemic. They should have made their policy clear from the very beginning,” Gambhir said added.
“They have been asking us to hand over the MCD to them. Instead, he should hand over the Delhi government to us. We promise to spend each and every penny of the massive advertisement fund of Kejriwal for fighting air pollution in the city,” he added.
