New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- A small, single-propeller aircraft operated by IIT Kanpur crisscrossed the overcast skies above northwest Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region on Tuesday, firing silver iodide flares in two cloud seeding trials that failed to produce rain - even as the capital's environment minister hailed the exercise as "successful". The aircraft fired 16 flares containing silver iodide and sodium chloride compounds over Burari and surrounding areas, Mayur Vihar, and Noida in attempts to induce rain in a much-debated plan to tamp down air pollution that tends to accumulate this time of the year. "Delhi has taken an unprecedented, science-first step by adopting cloud seeding as a tool to control air pollution. Our focus is to assess how much rainfall can be triggered under Delhi's real-life humidity conditions. With every trial, science guides our actions-for the winter and all year round," Delhi's environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said. The initiative has been another flashpoint in Delhi's politics. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj held a press conference questioning the BJP-led government's decision to conduct trials on a day when the IMD had already forecast rain. After trial, Bhardwaj shared a video showing Delhi skies at 4:30 pm: "There is no sign of rain. Any clouds that were visible were also blown away by this trial."...