Everyday, thousands of people spend hours on the Capital’s streets trying to make a living. For them, there is no escape from the pollution. HT spoke to five people who shared their insight into what it costs them.
Ronak Prasad, 50; book vendor, New Friends Colony
The easier question, said 50-year-old Ronak Prasad, is “What problems does the pollution not cause? Prasad, who has been working as a book vendor in New Friends Colony for 33 years, said he has developed a permanent cough and cold because of the increase in pollution. “The situation gets so bad that I don’t have the heart to continue working. My head feels heavy, my eyes burn, and it becomes hard to breathe. I wear a mask when the pollution rises, but have to remove that after sometime too, as I need to speak to the customers.”
He even falls sick more often costing him his daily wage. “When I fall sick, I do nothing but stay at home so that I can return to work as soon as possible. Since October this year, I have already fallen sick twice.” The 50-year-old said it is getting harder to do his job each year because of the worsening pollution, adding that this year has been the worst for him.
“If the government can do anything for vendors like me, it would be to provide us with a permanent license and a cabin from which we can conduct our business, so that we have some shelter,” he concluded.
Mahesh Kumar, 28; road sweeper, Chandni Chowk
Mahesh Kumar, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, said he doesn’t understand the difference between fog and pollution, but the constant itching in his nose and eyes had definitely not been an issue for him in winters till he came to Delhi.
“I am from a village and I don’t understand the science of pollution. But every morning, at around 4, I leave my home in Baghpat to catch a train for New Delhi because I work the early shift from 6 to 2 in the afternoon. As soon as I reach the New Delhi Railway Station, just behind the Chandni Chowk market, I see thick grey coloured fog but it doesn’t feel that cold,” said Kumar. “I don’t know how to explain… in my village the fog isn’t this heavily layered but it’s really bone-chilling whereas in Delhi it looks so hazy with comparatively much lesser coldness.”
He hasn’t experienced anything like this before. It has only been 25 days since the 28-year-old began working for a government-tendered agency that looks after cleaning of roads in the Chandni chowk area. He worked as a cleaning staff at Sonipat-based Ashoka University up until 2024.
Kumar is responsible for cleaning roads from Chandni Chowk’s Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib to Paranthe wale gali. He said even though he earns ₹4,000 more compared to his earlier job, he feels helpless now because cleaning dust and garbage have made him more vulnerable to the itchiness.
“I had waited till Diwali to join another job and was excited to work in Delhi. But after seeing the pollution here, I regret not waiting for a few more months.”
Rajan Sekh, 33; cycle rickshaw driver, Chandni Chowk
Everyday, Rajan Sekh, a cycle rickshaw driver, is already breathless by the time he reaches Chandni Chowk market from his rented room in Shastri Park — a distance of over 16 km.
“It takes me around 30mins to reach Chandni Chowk where I have worked as a rickshaw puller for the past nine years, and, in case, there’s traffic then the journey increases to an hour. Just a few minutes into the ride my head feels heavy and I feel my throat is choked with very heavy fumes,” the 33-year-old said.
Since his work is all physical labour, he said, it is difficult to wear a mask. “I don’t wear a mask because I feel even more breathless then.”
However, despite the pollution and concerns over his health, Sekh, a migrant from West Bengal’s Birbhum district, said he has no choice but to take his rickshaw out everyday. He has to pay the rent for the three-wheeler, which costs him ₹150 per day.
Unfortunately, he rues, even though he has been working for nine years, he hasn’t saved enough money to buy a new rickshaw, worth ₹9,000, while people in Delhi own multiple cars.
His work has taken a hit after the Red Fort blasts last month. Few foreigners, who are the main source of income during the winter season, are visiting.
In the end, he said, despite his rickshaw not contributing to the pollution, he is paying the price of the emissions caused by big vehicle owners. “Over the past nine years, I have seen both the number of vehicles and people going up in Delhi. Unless the government keeps a check on these two things, the situation will only worsen.”
Sharif Khan, 24; tea stall owner, New Friends Colony
He started his tea stall in New Friends Colony, three years ago, because I wanted to do something of my own, but now, 24-year-old Sharif Khan is worried he may have to quit because of the pollution.
“It is very difficult. Standing outside the entire day with this air makes my entire body feel very weak, and a cough and cold have become constant problems now. It is becoming too much, and I feel worried that I may have to quit this job,” Khan said.
His daily shift lasts around 12 hours on average: he opens the stall at 10 in the morning and closes it at 10 in the night. “The pollution definitely increases in the evenings, as I can feel more smoke in the air. However, I have no choice but to continue working, as the evening hours are when the most number of customers come too. I do wear a mask when the pollution gets too much, but it makes interacting with customers difficult so I have to remove it on most evenings.”
Having come to Delhi from Assam, Khan cannot help but be reminded of the much cleaner environment in his hometown, during his hours of work in the smog. “It isn’t like the pollution cannot be reduced in the city. In my village in Assam it is much lower, so the government should do everything they can to reduce it,” he added.
Dharam Veer, 26; florist, New Friends Colony
For 26-year-old Dharam Veer, the situation feels hopeless. “What can an ordinary person even do about the pollution? We need our daily wages, and we need to eat everyday. That means working during heavy pollution.”
Having worked as a florist in New Friends Colony for six years, he is used to the pollution now. “Bouts of coughing, colds, burning in my eyes – all this is normal now. It happens often, but we have to continue working. I have to come here early in the morning, sometimes even at 4 am, and I usually do not leave until 10 or 11 in the night, as I need to earn.”
Veer said that, for him and others in his profession, it is difficult to procure even simple remedies for pollution, such as masks, because of the costs.
“Masks are used everyday, and get ruined after two-three days of use. So you have to keep on buying masks, it is a recurring expense. The total cost of that in a month is too much for me to bear — my priorities are paying my rent, and caring for my family,” he said.
Masks are also not the primary solution on their own, he said, “Simply distributing masks and encouraging their use will not do anything. I think that more trees should be planted, especially in open areas. We have only 2-3 trees for our entire market, but even they help us so much when the pollution is high. I also feel that free household plants should be distributed. Many people like me cannot afford to buy them, but they would greatly improve the air in our homes.”