'We Endure': Staying Indoors Not An Option, Workers Suffer The Tyranny Of Smog In Delhi

Kamlesh Kumar was on his way into a restaurant on Malcha Marg to pick up an order when he described what riding through Delhi's smog is like: "It feels like someone has thrown grit into our eyes while we try to read addresses."

Delhi's air quality had been moving between 'poor' and 'severe' over the past week, though on Sunday it improved, yet remained 'poor', as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. That was the average, though, as multiple monitoring stations continue to record 'severe' for two weeks and counting. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR.

Advisories, hence, urge residents to stay indoors, run air purifiers, and work from home.

Kamlesh, the delivery worker, said the advice has moved others' routine errands onto riders like him. "People have started ordering everything online, so they don't face any problem, while we complete around 20 orders a day in the worst air. It's exhausting, but we must keep going," he told NDTV.

He is not the only one who cannot follow the WFH advice, a luxury he cannot afford.

Hidden Cost Of Staying Indoors

At Mandi House, vegetable vendor Sandeep said it has cut into his sales. "People come out much later now to buy vegetables. Most customers prefer ordering online and opt for home delivery," he said.

"While they sit at home, I sit here to organise my produce and sell it," he added.

NDTV spoke to street vendors, photographers and auto-rickshaw drivers at Copernicus Marg, Mandi House and India Gate, prominent parts of the national capital right next to major power centres. They said residents staying home emptied their stalls and tourist spots. Meanwhile, they still work 10 to 12 hours a day outdoors with burning eyes, sore throats and breathlessness, and most said they could not afford to stop.

"I sit here the whole day. My eyes burn. My throat gets sore. Sometimes I wear a mask; I can't do that consistently. But I must endure to earn a living," Sandeep further told NDTV.

Doctors warn that spending 8 to 10 hours on Delhi's roads when the AQI is 'severe' is equivalent to smoking several cigarettes a day. They say it raises the risk of asthma, bronchitis, chronic eye infections and cardiovascular disease.

Brij Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver, said, "The governments are busy playing a political blame game instead of helping us."

Measures under GRAP Stage 3 include a ban on non-essential construction, curbs on older vehicles, and hybrid classes for students up to Class 5. They do not include healthcare or income support for people who work outdoors. A forecast on Sunday, November 15, said Delhi's air will be 'very poor' on November 17 and 18 too.

'Pollution Kills Our Business And Us'

On Copernicus Marg, flower vendor Suraj Kumar Thakur and his father, Shiv Kumar Thakur, said they were trying to protect both their health and their perishable stock.

"After Diwali, the headaches started, and everyone in my home is sick," Suraj told NDTV.

"It is impossible to leave without a mask, yet it is hard to work all day wearing one. Even our flowers, which are living things, get ruined. We are feeling pressurised, sick and out of breath. I keep telling my father to wear a mask for as long as he can," he added.

Shiv Kumar said, "I am old, and my chest feels completely congested."

It hits their business directly. "Dust and soot settle on the flowers and ruin them; we have to keep sprinkling water just to save them. After Diwali, there is barely any work, and we are suffering losses," Shiv Kumar said.

A woman named Rekha, who sells packaged water on Delhi's streets, said the worst spikes force her to stop: "When the pollution spikes and I start feeling sick, I have to put on a mask and stop business for a bit. You can clearly feel the difference over the past few days."

When India Gate Disappears, So Do The Tourists

India Gate is usually crowded with families and tourists, but its lawns were visibly emptier this weekend. Young men who identified themselves as Rahul and Pankaj earn a living photographing visitors at the monument, and they said the smog had wiped out their business.

"We feel so stuck. Sales have dropped sharply because people don't want to leave their homes or bring their children out into the air. The government should do something for us," Rahul said.

"If India Gate itself isn't visible through the smog, what will we show in the photographs?" Pankaj added.

Prem, who sells sunglasses near the monument, said he is in his mid-60s now and his eyes start watering these days on their own. "This isn't fog. This is pollution. With no footfall, our business is finished," he told NDTV.

For Deepak, an ice-cream vendor, the weeks after Diwali are usually peak season. "We stand here until 10 pm because ours is a night-time trade. Now, by evening, nothing is visible," he said.