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Tackling Delhi pollution head-on with air filter helmets

Reproduced from: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2019/nov/07/tackling-delhi-pollution-head-on-with-air-filter-helmets-2058315.html, published 7th November 2019

By Express News Service

Even as the government takes measures to tackle the problem of air pollution, some people have pitched in with ‘remedies’. To keep particulate matter at bay, Sandhar Amkin Industries has come up with a special helmet for two-wheeler drivers.

Mavox Helmets from the house of Sandhar Amkin has launched a range of activated carbon (charcoal treated with oxygen to open pores of carbon atoms which help it in absorbing certain airborne particles as well as harmful chemicals and gases which leads to poor air quality) air filter helmets. The Mavox FX30 Max can filter up to 93 per cent polluted air.

The carbon filter present in these helmets traps the air pollutants and prevents these from going back to the air, resulting in cleaner air to breathe in. What’s more, the filter can even be re-used after washing it, which makes it quite economical.

“Considering the steady worsening of the air quality, this particular helmet is especially useful for daily riders in Delhi NCR who are exposed to polluted air,” says Ayushman Mehta, managing director, Mavox Helmets.

Bikers cannot be happier. “It is good that someone thought about us. Car-owners can install air purifiers in their cars and secure themselves but we are constantly exposed to toxic air,” says Tarun Chhibber, a resident of Ashok Vihar.

“It is all a question of the filter,” says Dr KK Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI).

“And while everyone is talking about anti-pollution masks and air purifiers, no one is concerned about that particular section of the society which don’t have access to these,” he adds. Dr Aggarwal has devised simple means of making the indoor air clean as well as DIY kit for making a cost-effective anti-pollution mask.

“Air pollution bodes ill for all, more so for people suffering from allergies, asthma and heart diseases,” he says, adding that all you need to do is buy a filter and place it in front of a table/ pedestal fan. “Similarly, people can use these filters to make their own masks rather than going ahead with costly products,” he says.

Exhorting the central government to reduce the cost of filters further (as of now a filter sheet is available anywhere between Rs 300-Rs 1,000), he says if the price is capped, even poor people can afford masks and purifiers.

“We are soon launching a competition for schools in which students will be told to come up with their own ideas of making anti-pollution masks and purifiers,” he informs.