Air purifiers at traffic intersections: Experts call it mere band-aid fix
In a rather desperate move to counter the severe air pollution in Delhi, the government wants to install air purifiers at traffic intersections. But experts feel the idea is flawed on various counts. While this is more of a band-aid solution that doesn’t bring down vehicular emissions, the system may also not be as effective in “purifying” polluted air. Each device, it is claimed, helps purify the air of up to 40% pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, over a 30-metre radius. However, the results when the New Delhi Municipal Council installed a similar air purifier in Connaught Place in 2010 weren’t great, and the machine was soon dismantled. “It did not prove very effective. You have to understand that the air purifier has to have a huge capacity to be able to filter all the pollution,” an NDMC official told TOI. “We installed it more for demonstration and did not even pay the company then.” He, however, added that NDMC was now thinking of reas...