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‘Paisa kamao aur niklo ’: Man’s 3-month cough vanished in Thailand, only to return the moment he landed in Delhi
A viral post highlights India's AQI crisis as a man finds his "cure" in Thailand’s clean air, sparking a debate.
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A blunt social media post has gone viral for its grim take on the future of living in India’s major metros. A man claimed his persistent post-Diwali cough, which went on for about three months, was cured instantly by the superior AQI in Thailand. Labelling the struggle to breathe in India as a fight, the man shared the advice he gave himself: "To earn money and leave".
“My cough didn’t settle for three straight months after Diwali. I visited multiple doctors and took way too many medications, which completely messed up my system,” tweeted fitness coach Sumit Vasvani.
He continued, “Then came the big vacation to Thailand, and to my surprise, I wasn’t sick at all. It was the AIR, the AQI that had messed me up. Zero cough for 16 straight days until I landed back in Delhi.”
“I accepted my fate and just carried on coughing, but I haven’t touched an antibiotic since. India is the final boss. Yaha ka kuch nahi hona,” he added.
The individual continued, “It just took one trip out of India to lose all hope,” adding, “Andha paisa kamao aur niklo yahaan se. Serious advice I gave myself.”
His post was a response to another tweet by a fitness coach questioning the air quality in India. “I used to sneeze and catch colds all the time in Mumbai. But since landing in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, it's like the cold never existed. Ice cream every night. Cold water all day. Still no sneezing, no cold. And people still say AQI is a scam?” wrote Ajeenkya Patwordhan.
How did social media react?
Vasvani’s post sparked a discussion about the poor air quality in major Indian cities. An individual commented, “Hyderabad used to be good but crossed 250 AQI of 250 this winter. Unabated construction work everywhere; unless we impose critical guidelines for construction and factories, we'll be coughing capital of the world along with the 3rd largest economy.”
Another added, “I went to Delhi for 1 day in early December and couldn't stop coughing the entire cab ride.” A third joined, “I'm living like 300kms from Chennai/Bangalore, with just 12-15 industries. Still AQI is 150+. Our industries have zero air filter systems, they just emit it to the open air.”
A fourth wrote, “Just left India after one month. Medicine is not needed. I was on cold, cough, dust allergy medicine.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
