HIDCO joins hands with German company to tackle air pollution

Kolkata: In a significant stride towards clean and green New Town , West Bengal Housing & Infrastructure Development Authority (HIDCO) is coming up with a pilot project with an advanced mechanism of dust removing air pollution.

The project, which will be implemented after the Lok Sabha elections, will have a 8 ft high 3-cube stationary tower that will take away fine dust from air by the cubes.

Senior officials of HIDCO on Monday held a meeting with representatives from a noted German company with proven expertise in this sphere. Pradeep Randhawa, vice president and managing director of the company, was present in the meeting.

"The special filters, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and rain sensors make this a state of the art technology," said an official. The filter technology known as Fine Dust Eater comes with a number of solutions. The newly developed filter cube is designed for use at urban hotspots. It filters fine dust and nitrogen dioxide out of the air, thus reducing the risk to human health.

As per plans, the technology will be installed near the Bus Stand Island adjacent to Cafe Ekante food kiosk, where already a uniquely designed Wi Fi Tower-cum-seating area is also installed. It may be mentioned that New Town Kolkata Development Authority ( NKDA) has introduced the system of segregating garbage at source from March 1.

The residents are disposing garbage in two separate bins meant for dry waste and wet waste. The wet waste is being collected regularly and NKDA has proposed to start composting with wet waste. The body has already set up a plant and the compost is being used as manure for production of organic vegetables.

NKDA will be planting more trees this year during the monsoon. A list of dust absorbing plants as suggested by experts has been submitted to the state Forest department for its final nod. NKDA is also removing smoke belching hot mix plants in a few places in New Town and is undertaking massive awareness on clean and green New Town.

Waste water which is being used for roadside plants and state-of-the-art vehicles for cleaning roads are among a few steps initiated for a clean and green New Town.