Gopal Rai urges quick approval of artificial rain to combat pollution

New Delhi: Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, once again asked the Union Environment Minister for the approval of artificial rain to mitigate air pollution in the national capital. He has been seeking approval from the central government for a long time. Despite his repeated requests, he has not received approval yet.

Cloud seeding is a weather modification technology that helps in the creation of artificial rain. It is one of the 21-point plan of the Delhi government to tackle the pollution during the upcoming winter. Rai went on to say that ‘we are already one month late in getting the much needed approvals.

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It is certain that Delhi’s air quality will become hazardous from November, after Diwali and stubble burning by farmers of Punjab and Haryana. Rai asked the Union Minister to arrange a meeting as soon as possible with all related departments. These include the representative of the environment ministry, the Delhi government, and several other agencies that have the authority to issue the required permissions.

In his letter, Rai tried to convince the Union minister about Delhi’s poor air quality during the winter, which is not far away. He explained that cloud seeding is an emergency measure for reducing the air pollution in Delhi, NCR.

Rai further added that last year, the Delhi government also raised the issue of artificial rain but not succeeded. Cloud seeding is used when the air quality reaches the poor category. Rai further added that a presentation on this issue was made by IIT Kanpur that was shared with the central government on August 30 this year.