'Eyes burning, throat gone': Entrepreneur describes impact of Delhi, Amritsar air pollution
The co-founder said that within hours of arriving from Ahmedabad, she felt her “eyes burning,” her throat giving out, and her sinuses shutting down.
Prachi Sethi, co-founder and designer at This Is It Studio, has caught the internet’s attention after sharing an emotional post on X about her experience of landing in Delhi amid persistently high pollution levels.
“One of the most jarring sights of my life. I don’t say that lightly,” Sethi wrote in her post, after landing in the national capital. She said that within hours of arriving from Ahmedabad, she felt her “eyes burning,” her throat giving out, and her sinuses shutting down, despite wearing a mask for most of her trip.
(Also Read: Delhi woman cleans clogged air purifier as city battles severe AQI: ‘Even it deserves a spa day’)
Sethi said she moved back to India from Denmark two years ago to scale her design studio because she “loves this country. The food, the people, the ambition”. But the air pollution, she wrote, “is not normal and should not be treated like it is”.
Sethi said that while many people see pollution as numbers on an Air Quality Index (AQI) chart, for her, it is personal. “Most people see this issue from a distance… For me, those ‘people’ are my parents. My family. And watching them accept this as normal feels painful,” she wrote. She also described looking out of the airplane window and seeing skies that seemed “not hazy, but unlivable”.
Sethi concluded her post calling for urgent action. “This should be a national priority. Not an occasional headline. Moving out is not a real solution for most. Leaving the country is not my solution either,” she said.
“If you are building something to solve this in India, reach out. If you are working on air quality, climate, monitoring, filtration, mobility, enforcement or anything in this direction, reach out. I’m happy to volunteer and help however I can. Even if it’s small. This is one problem we can’t afford to normalise,” she added.
(Also Read: Foreigner’s grim take on Delhi air pollution as thick smog chokes city: ‘Could barely see the sun’)
Social media reactions
Sethi’s post has drawn widespread attention online, with many users echoing her frustration and others calling for immediate action.
“Same. I can’t imagine running in full-blown SMOG. Like bro, that's not cardio, that's gas chamber endurance training, it just sad!” one user wrote.
“This needs a political solution with buy-in from all the parties, particularly Punjab and dictatorial enforcement. Until then, nothing will happen because the deaths occur gradually and silently one soul at a time not suddenly, so there will be zero sense of urgency,” commented another.
“Also horrified seeing the state of matters in Delhi around this - would love to get involved in making a difference here in case you’re hit up with any active initiatives / plans that you might be able to share!” wrote a third user.
