Mask on the face, prayer on the lips: How residents survive hazardous air

Shrouded in a haze, the capital continues to grapple with severe pollution levels, with residents gasping for breath. Some complain of cough, chest pain, and incessant headaches, others deal with itchy eyes, fever, and breathing issues.

- Ashna Butani

HT spoke to those who are on the road due the nature of their work an autorickshaw driver, a Delhi police constable, and a food delivery executive, among others about how they are coping with the poisonous air. Most said that they are accustomed to the annual phenomenon, and carry masks and medicines as precautionary measures.

While the AQI has improved slightly, it continues to fluctuate between the "severe" and the "very poor" categories.

Kishan Pal, autorickshaw driver

The 41-year-old wears a black poly-cotton mask and carries a cough syrup with him as he drives his auto from one part of the city to another.

"I try to avoid areas in the city that are more polluted that others but I don't really have a choice," said Pal, who has been riding an auto in the capital for 15 years.

Pal lamented how business takes a hit as local and international tourists rarely visit the city at this time of the year. "Earnings are down to half of what I usually make. Things in Delhi weren't always this bad. In the winter earlier, the air was cleaner and people would visit the city," said Pal.

When he fell sick in the first week of November, Pal who earns ₹10,000 a month and lives in a rented house in southeast Delhi's Badarpur-visited a doctor a private doctor, who charged a consultation of ₹750, and prescribed him two tablets, and a cough syrup for itchy throat. "Our autos have nothing protecting us from the pollution.

When the air quality got worse early November, my throat started hurting. The annual pollution season hurts us. There's financial distress as well as medical bills to foot," he said.