Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has arranged ‘artificial rain’ through water spray cannons in the city to control air pollution and keep the city cool during intense heatwaves. This ‘artificial rain’ was poured on Syed Mahbub Morshed Sarani in Agargaon of the capital on Saturday, April 27, through two water cannons on the advice of Bushra Afrin, the chief heat officer of Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, a US-based research institute assigned to DNCC.
During this time, many pedestrians including children were seen getting drenched in this ‘rain’. According to sources, ‘artificial rain’ will soon be seen in various areas of the city including Uttara, Mirpur, Farmgate, Agargaon areas in the capital.
Dhaka North City Corporation-DNCC Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam inaugurated the program and said that this type of water spray or artificial rain will be sprinkled every day from morning to afternoon. During the next seven days, such rain will be sprinkled in various parks of North City.
The mayor said, we will sprinkle four lakh liters of water every day with two vehicles. Water will be provided on important roads of the city from 11 am to 4 pm. However, the vehicles will not be able to go to the lanes or by lanes, but will remain on the main road. And 10 browsers have been arranged to sprinkle water on the road. Each browser holds 15,000 liters of water.
He said, spray cannons are used to prevent dust and air pollution in the city, but now they are being used to reduce heat waves. In this context, Bushra Afrin said, time is needed to bring the temperature under control by increasing afforestation in the city. But there is no point in sitting idle for that now. Therefore, we have taken the initiative to create ‘artificial rain’ through water cannons to quickly control the temperature even for a short period of time. This will reduce the suffering of city dwellers in summer. The city corporation is trying its best to improve drinking water supply. At the same time efforts are being made to provide ‘cooling spaces’ so that pedestrians can rest. We must plant more trees and come up with eco-friendly infrastructure.
North City Chief Heat Officer said, we have taken several significant steps in the last one year. One of these is to increase public awareness in slum areas. Because, they are one of the most vulnerable population. They have been involved by planting trees in these places and maintaining these trees. Apart from this, we are going to launch various activities in association with several public and private organizations and NGOs, including the Department of Meteorology. As a pilot project in Kalyanpur and Banani, we are going to create ‘Urban Forest’, which will simultaneously provide cooling, prevent air pollution and improve soil quality.