Delhi's smog-fighting helicopters can't fly - because of smog
Source: The Guardian
Delhi's smog-fighting helicopters can't fly – because of smog
City administrators told they would be unable to help dissipate the smog until the smog itself cleared
Michael Safi in Delhi
Tuesday 14 November 2017 13.38 GMT
An ambitious plan to use helicopters to fight Delhi’s air pollution has been grounded because the aircraft cannot operate in the thick smog, underscoring growing frustration at authorities’ inability to address the toxic haze engulfing the city.
Accusations that Narendra Modi’s government is failing to take the crisis seriously were further fuelled on Tuesday when the environment minister, Harsh Vardhan, urged residents to remain calm, saying only “routine precautions” were needed, even though air quality levels remain “severe”.
The city authorities had engaged a state-owned helicopter company to spray water over Delhi in the hope of settling the thick haze of pollutants. But on Monday administrators were told they would be unable to help dissipate the smog until the smog itself had cleared.
“Right now, with the prevailing smog, it is not possible for the helicopters to carry out operations,” the chairman and managing director of the company, BP Sharma, told the Indian Express. “We have communicated the same to the Delhi government. There was a meeting regarding this on Monday.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/14/delhi-smog-fighting-helicopters-cant-fly-because-of-smog
