As pollution soars in Gurgaon, masks fly off shelves

Chemists said the sale of masks in October increased by 25-30%

To tackle respiratory issues aggravated by high pollution levels in the city, people are visiting nearby chemist stores and stocking up on air purifying masks.

Traffic cops wear air purifying masks as they man traffic on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Chemists said this month, the sale of such masks has increased by 25-30%. On the other hand, city doctors have also reported a spike in respiratory cases.

“A morning walk for one hour is part of my daily routine, but I had to discontinue it temporarily after experiencing difficulties in breathing. When I consulted my local physician, he recommended that I should purchase an oxygen mask as pollution might have been a contributing factor to my condition,” Dinesh Gupta, a resident of DLF Phase 4, said.

Dinesh said he purchased an N99 mask from a chemist in Galleria Market and has resumed his morning walks after a gap of two weeks.

On a visit to the Galleria Market, which is home to as many as five medicine shops, the chemists told Hindustan Times that anti-pollution masks have been flying off the shelves over the last ten days.

“N99 is the most sought after mask in the wake of rising pollution levels and although we felt that the stock will last a month, we are sold out earlier than expected,” Ashish Kumar, a chemist in Galleria Market, said.

Chemists opposite the Medanta-the Medicity hospital said that although they are waiting on a fresh stock of N99 masks to arrive, basic pollution masks, which less than ₹500 each, are also finding many buyers.

“A month ahead of Diwali, chemists across the city start stocking up on air purifying masks as the season change and the spike in pollution levels lead to respiratory issues and the demand for the masks also shot up. Each shop is selling at least 10 such masks every day,” Abdul, a chemist in Sector 39, said.

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Authorities have also taken note of the rising pollution levels and have distributed masks to its staff.

On October 15, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) procured four thousand air purifying masks and distributed them to its sanitation workers. Gurgaon police on Saturday distributed five thousand N95 masks to its staff. The masks were supplied by a private agency.