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Lahore gets Pakistan's first smog tower

News Desk

Dec 27

Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has installed Pakistan’s first-ever 'smog tower' in Lahore in an attempt to reduce air pollution and smog in the provincial capital.


Officials have told local media that the performance of the smog tower installed in Mehmood Booti will be monitored to allow an informed decision about installing more towers in the future. 

 

The tower, currently 20 feet high, can be extended to 50 feet. 

 

It will consume a low amount of electricity and has the capacity to be run on solar and battery power. 


The tower has been manufactured in Pakistan after a detailed study of smog towers manufactured by renowned companies abroad.

 


However, the cost of the locally developed tower is three times lower than that of the internationally manufactured tower.

 

Experiments with the tower had been conducted before the final installation. An official of the manufacturing company told the media that before installing the smog tower in Lahore, the company conducted laboratory tests and more tests at various polluted sites in Islamabad and Gujranwala.

 

Mahmood Booti area of Lahore has been selected because it has the highest air pollution. 


Environment Protection Agency has claimed that after the installation of the tower, the AQI in the neighbourhood has come down from 1600 to 250 in a few days. 
It is expected that if 200 towers are installed in different parks, shopping centres and commercial areas throughout Lahore, the city can be free from smog.


Director General of the Environment Protection Department Punjab Imran Hamid Shaikh, addressing a presser, said that the smog tower will be able to filter up to 50,000 cubic feet of air per hour over an area of one kilometre. "The field test of the tower will be conducted for 15 days, during which its ability to clear up pollutants caused by chimneys, industries and dumping sites will be ascertained.”


He stated that the environment department will monitor chemical pollutants in the air via air quality monitors, and if the experiment proves successful, more towers will be installed. 


Notably, the project is not incurred by the Punjab government and the experiment is being conducted with the support of private sector engineers. Meanwhile, the environment protection departments will stand by private entities assisting with the cause.

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