Masks to be part of uniform of Delhi Traffic Police

New Delhi, Oct 16 : With air quality in the national capital deteriorating consistently and likely to cross the red bar around Diwali, the Delhi Traffic Police is set to give away 5,000 N95 standard masks to its personnel.

According to officials, with the worsening of air quality here, masks will become part of the Delhi Traffic Police's uniform. The N95 masks are currently being procured and are expected to arrive next week.

"The masks will be delivered anytime next week and will be distributed to 5,000 personnel to minimise the effect of toxic air on their health," Garima Bhatnagar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), told IANS.

"The lot arriving after 5,000 N95 will become part of their uniform," she added.

The N95 standard respiratory masks are very efficient in blocking the fine particles like PM2.5, or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm -- one of the major pollutants in Delhi's air and responsible for reducing the life expectancy in the national capital by at least nine years.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police (Traffic) will be distributing 10,000 disposable masks to its personnel on Tuesday, which will help reduce some respiratory risks for a day.