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Speaking to PTI, the minister said visibility in Kanpur is currently 2,000 meters and once it reaches 5,000 meters, the aircraft will take off for testing.
“The flight will reach Delhi when visibility (in Kanpur) improves. Cloud seeding will be tested today,” he told PTI video.
Sirsa, Culture Minister Kapil Mishra and Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were offering ‘Arghya’ to the rising sun on the concluding day of Chhath at ITO Ghat on Tuesday morning.
Sirsa said, “The festival was celebrated with great grandeur. Yesterday, our Chief Minister prayed to the setting sun and today she sought blessings from the rising sun for the progress of Delhi.”
The minister also attacked AAP for “spreading negativity” during the festivities.
He said, “AAP has been spreading negativity for the last three days. He should have participated in the festival. May Chhathi Maiya give him wisdom.”
The test, aimed at creating artificial rain to tackle air pollution in the capital, is part of the Delhi government’s broader strategy to mitigate the deteriorating air quality during the winter months.
Preparations for the much-awaited cloud seeding experiment are now complete, with the government conducting a test flight over Burari last week.
During the test, small amounts of silver iodide and sodium chloride compounds, used to trigger artificial rain, were released from the aircraft.
However, due to atmospheric moisture being less than 20%, whereas 50% is usually required for cloud seeding, rainfall could not occur.
Last week, Chief Minister Gupta had said that the India Meteorological Department has predicted the formation of suitable clouds between October 28 and October 30.
“If conditions remain favourable, Delhi may receive its first artificial rain on October 29,” Gupta said in a post on Twitter last Thursday.
The Delhi government on September 25 signed an MoU with IIT Kanpur to conduct five cloud seeding trials, all of which are planned in northwest Delhi.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had earlier given permission to IIT Kanpur to conduct the test any time between October 1 and November 30.
Clearance has also been obtained from more than 10 central and state departments, including the Union Environment, Defense and Home Ministries, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Airports Authority of India and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
The Delhi Cabinet on May 7 approved a proposal to conduct five cloud seeding trials at a total cost of ₹3.21 crore.
However, the exercise had to be postponed several times due to adverse weather and monsoon conditions, including the deadlines scheduled for late May, early June, August, September and most recently the second week of October.