Delhi Smog: Delhi government in talks with Pawan Hans for aerial sprinkling

The helicopter service company, in a letter, asked the Delhi administration for a meeting to discuss the matter regarding the possibility of carrying out the exercise which "shall require a comprehensive feasibility study and approvals from various authorities"

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New Delhi: Alarmed over life-threatening high-level of pollution, the Delhi government on Friday said that it was in talks with state-owned helicopter service company Pawan Hans to aerially sprinkle water over the city to settle pollutants. Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain tweeted: "Delhi govt is in talks with Pawan Hans for an aerial sprinkling of water over the city to bring down particulate matter @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia."

Delhi govt is in talks with Pawan Hans for aerial sprinkling of water over the city to bring down particulate matter@ArvindKejriwal @msisodia

— Imran Hussain (@ImranHussaain) November 10, 2017

This comes in wake of NGT's (National Green Tribunal) order on Thursday directing the government to track down all the hot spots with the PM10 more than 600 and spray water from helicopters or aircraft to tackle dust pollution across the city. The helicopter service company, in a letter, asked the Delhi administration for a meeting to discuss the matter regarding the possibility of carrying out the exercise which "shall require a comprehensive feasibility study and approvals from various authorities". Pawan Hans, an enterprise under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said it "has the capacity to carry out such assignment and has carried out similar exercises in the past for washing of insulators of high tension lines and agriculture spraying." Delhi has been facing acute air pollution with pollutants touching calamitous levels, as a thick grey smog hung low across the region and It suggested setting up a joint group of the government and its own team to work out a proposal.