Delhi conducts successful trial for artificial rain; 1st cloud seeding likely on Oct 29
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday said the city is set to witness its first-ever artificial rain through cloud seeding as preparations for the ambitious pollution-control initiative have been completed.
A successful trial of the project was conducted earlier in the day in the Burari area, Gupta said in a post on X.
"For the first time in Delhi, preparations have been completed to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding, marking a significant technological milestone in the capital's fight against air pollution. Experts on Thursday successfully conducted a trial test in the Burari area.
"According to the weather department, cloudy conditions are expected on October 28, 29, and 30. If the weather remains favourable, Delhi is likely to witness its first artificial rain on October 29," her post read.
"This initiative is not only technologically historic but also establishes a scientific approach to combating pollution in Delhi. The government aims to clean the capital's air and balance its environment through this innovation," Gupta said.
Officials said that during the trial in Burari, small amounts of silver iodide and sodium chloride, used to induce artificial rain, were released from an aircraft, but there was limited moisture in the air -- less than 20 per cent.
Cloud seeding typically requires a moisture level of around 50 per cent, which meant no rainfall occurred in the area.
In its report on the test run, IIT-Kanpur said, "This flight served as a proving mission to assess the capabilities for cloud seeding, the readiness and endurance of the aircraft, the functionality of the seeding equipment and flares, and the coordination among all involved agencies."
"There is no evidence of any precipitation, as the cloud cover was minimal and the moisture content was well below 15 per cent," the report added, noting that specially designed flares were used to release both silver iodide and sodium chloride.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa thanked Gupta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their support in ensuring timely approvals for the project.
"Today, a trial seeding flight was conducted from IIT Kanpur to the Delhi area via Meerut, Khekra, Burari, Sadakpur, Bhojpur, Aligarh, and back to IIT Kanpur. Cloud seeding flares were fired between Khekra and Burari and over the Badli area using pyrotechnics," Sirsa said in a post on X.
He added that the flight served as a proving mission to assess the cloud-seeding system's capabilities, aircraft endurance and coordination among all participating agencies.
The cloud-seeding project, jointly developed by IIT-Kanpur and the Delhi government, aims to explore artificial rainfall as a method to reduce particulate-pollution levels in the city during the post-Diwali smog season.
Delhi's much-awaited artificial rain experiment was supposed to be conducted on July 4, but was postponed.
Last month, the Delhi government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIT-Kanpur for five cloud-seeding trials, which are expected to be conducted in northwest Delhi.
The project, approved by 23 departments, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), aims to explore whether artificial rain can be a viable solution to tackle rising pollution levels during the winter.
Funds have already been transferred to the IIT-Kanpur, which will deploy its own aircraft for the operation. According to a DGCA order, the activity will be carried out under visual flight rules, and only after obtaining clearances from state and local authorities.
The cloud-seeding operations are authorised between October 1 and November 30, and will follow strict safety, security and air traffic control guidelines.
Permission has been granted under rule 26(2) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, allowing the IIT-Kanpur's Department of Aerospace Engineering to conduct the activity using a Cessna 206-H aircraft (VT-IIT).
The project is being conducted in coordination with experts from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The Delhi Cabinet approved a proposal on May 7 to conduct five cloud-seeding trials at a total cost of Rs 3.21 crore.
However, the exercise faced repeated delays due to unfavourable weather conditions and the onset of the southwest monsoon, with deadlines pushed back from May-end and early June to August, September, and most recently, the second week of October.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
