How Delhi’s Rich Contribute to Pollution While the Poor Suffer

Under choking smog that has gripped India’s capital for nearly three weeks, Shahbaz and Noor, a waste-picking couple, toil through hazardous air to earn a meager livelihood. With Air Quality Index (AQI) levels soaring past 1,700—17 times above the acceptable limit—Delhiites are battling what the region’s chief minister calls a “medical emergency.”

“Death is in the air,” Shahbaz laments, coughing incessantly as he pedals his cycle cart. Noor, recovering from eye irritation caused by the smog, echoes his desperation: “Dying of hunger sounds more horrific than suffocation.”

The city of 30 million is reeling under hazardous PM2.5 levels, which exacerbate respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. Despite shuttered schools and plummeting visibility, poorer households like Shahbaz’s bear the brunt of pollution caused largely by industrial emissions, vehicular traffic, and crop burning.

‘Vastly Inequitable’ Impact

For Delhi’s impoverished, the cost of survival is suffocating. Noor recalls how her teenage daughter, Rukhsana, developed tuberculosis two winters ago, plunging the family into debt. “This city is dying because of rich people’s vehicles,” says Shahbaz. “They will survive because they have money. Where do people like us go?”

A Yale study highlights this inequity, showing that while the wealthy contribute disproportionately to pollution, they insulate themselves with air purifiers and enclosed spaces. In contrast, the poor remain exposed and vulnerable.

The Human Cost

Residents like 67-year-old rickshaw puller Sheikh Ali have little hope for change. Living with 11 family members in a cramped two-room home, Ali witnesses his 11-month-old grandson suffer recurrent respiratory issues. “Medicines bring relief for two days, but then it starts again,” he says.

Ali dreams of returning to his ancestral village in Uttar Pradesh but doubts if he’ll ever escape Delhi’s toxic grip. “Working in this hell to save money is as toxic as breathing here,” he laments.

Calls for Change

Environmental activists like Bhavreen Khandari, co-founder of Warrior Moms, demand structural solutions over “band-aid measures” like water sprinkling and vehicle restrictions. “Children now know antibiotics and nebulisers better than toys,” she says, decrying the government’s lack of urgency.

On November 14, Khandari and others protested for “healthy air for all,” only to be met with police indifference. “Everything is wrong about the policy—no planning, no enforcement, no intent,” she says.

A Familiar Tale, A Bleak Future

For Delhi’s residents, smog-filled winters are an annual tragedy with no end in sight. The cost of breathing, especially for the poor, grows unbearable with each passing year. As the skies darken, so does hope for cleaner air in the world’s most polluted capital.

This news piece highlights the human and social dimensions of Delhi’s pollution crisis, shedding light on the widening gap between the rich and poor in the fight for survival.