Air purifiers and pollution masks in high demand
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Air purifiers and pollution masks in high demand

Indirapuram shopkeepers report spike in demand as Noida and Ghaziabad district magistrates issue advisory for schools.

Air purifiers and pollution masks in high demand Picture used for representative purpose only

With the recent spike in air pollution levels in NCR, electrical appliance shops in Indirapuram have reported a rise in the demand for air purifiers. The demand for air pollution masks has also increased and electrical appliance shops and pharmacies have been running out of stock.

The sales staff of an electrical appliance store in Vaibhav Khand said that the demand for the appliance has been high since the last 2-3 days. The store sold over 15 such appliances on November 6 against no sales on other days.

A manager of a pharmacy in the area said that his shop had run out of stock of N95 particulate filtering masks and that the demand has been equally high for common surgical masks.

Residents say that they are desperately trying to procure pollution masks, especially for the children and the elderly. Anil Khare, a resident of Aditya Mega City (a residential society), said, “I bought an air purifier along with a set of four masks for my family. I have done this as a precautionary measure against the rise in air pollution.” 

Pharmacy shopkeepers are also out to make a quick buck in the present situation. Sanjay Chauhan, a resident who recently bought an N95 mask, said, “These masks were originally priced between Rs 50 to Rs 100 but, due the increased demand, I had to buy it for Rs 250.”

According to the data released by UP Pollution Control Board, the AQI (Air Quality Index) on November 3 stood at 664, on November 4 at 690, on November 5 at 886 and on November 6 was 800. Levels above AQI 300 are regarded as hazardous.

Indoor air purifiers are equipped with three-layered filters. The first layer or the “Pre-filter” filterslarger particles from the air and the second filter or the “Carbon filter” absorbs finer particles like cigarette smoke, etc. The final layer or High-efficiency particulate arrestance filter (HEPA) makes the air free of bacteria and viruses.

Speaking to City Spidey, residents said many of them had stopped sending their wards to school in Noida and Ghaziabad.  

The district magistrates of the two cities on Sunday issued advisories for schools. Classes from nursery to Std II will be closed on November 7 and November 8. Other classes will be held from 9 am till 1 pm. Nidhi Kesarwani, DM of Ghaziabad, and NP Singh, DM of Noida, have advised school administrations not to hold assemblies or other co-curricular activities in the open.