As Delhi¡¯s Air Quality Deteriorates Further, Residents Are Leaving The Capital For Good

Mayur Sharma, foodie, TV anchor and one half of Rocky and Mayur, spent his life in Delhi ¡ª until last November. As Delhi was besieged by its worst smog in 17 years, he and his wife pulled their two young children out of school and moved to Goa for three months. When they came back, they decided it was time to relocate for good.

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"It was not easy to uproot ourselves. I was leaving a house I'd stayed in since 1976, which I shared with my parents. I had to move from my closest friends, including Rocky who lives nearby," says Mayur. "It was a hard but obvious decision because it comes down to this: if a few years later, my child is sick or dying, all this won't matter."

Though they'd been part of two city groups campaigning for cleaner air, the disillusionment over government apathy had been growing. "We realised that nothing was going to change," he says. "If you live in Delhi, you're dying with each breath."

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Mayur isn't alone in seeking cleaner air. Two years ago, when New York Times correspondent Gardiner Harris wrote that he was leaving Delhi because of its dangerous air pollution and its effect on his sons' health, many dismissed it as an expat's tirade. Now, a growing number of entrepreneurs and professionals are migrating from Delhi to escape the pollution. These include families with children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems ¡ª groups which are the worst hit by hazardous air quality.

Mayur is fortunate enough to have a family home in Goa, but others too are making the tough call to relocate. "In Delhi, you earn more money, but you also spend more on rent and transport so it all boils down to priorities," says Delhi-born artist Deepikah Bharadwaj. "You have to choose whether you want to make a lot of money or have a good, healthy life." Deepikah and her husband decided to move after their son was born in 2016. She and her entrepreneur husband spent two years scouring for an alternative and zeroed in on Goa where she moved this July. Her husband plans to join her in a few months.

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It wasn't easy convincing the rest of their family and friends, who remain in the city. "The thing about air pollution is that you don't see it so you don't think it is there, but the truth is that Delhi air is making us sick," she says.

For others, it is a question of survival. After spending seven years in Delhi, lawyer Alok Kumar returned to his hometown Bengaluru last October, after he found his bronchitis worsening every year. Despite using inhalers, steroid tablets, face masks and air purifiers, Alok continued to feel breathless and get crushing migraines. "Sometimes, I spent days in bed because it was such an effort to breathe," Kumar says. "Bengaluru doesn't have pristine air but since moving, my problems have decreased."

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This week, as Delhi was hit by another 'airpocalypse', many weighed their options. Industry body Assocham cautioned the central and state governments that poor air quality could drive away top executives and talented individuals. Spurred by a discussion among his friends on where they could move from Delhi, Medianama founder Nikhil Pahwa, started a crowdsourced list of cities that people could consider, ranked on criteria like education, air quality and connectivity.

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Designer Swati Jain is among those who have decided to move after doctors advised her 68-year-old mother Sharda, who suffers from interstitial lung disease, to leave Delhi. After watching her mother turn from a lively person to one who walks with her shoulders hunched, and needs steroids, nebulizers, and oxygen support to sleep at night, Swati has decided the decision can't be put off any longer. "This air is poison for her," Swati says. After living in Delhi for 15 years, her parents will be leaving this month for Kolkata, with Swati planning to move soon. "Professionally Delhi has been very good to me. I studied at NIFT here, I am teaching and have my own label for clothes and accessories. It is a great place to work but at what cost?"

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Yet, leaving is not a feasible solution for everyone, including the many who've come to Delhi to seek work and economic opportunities. "Those of us who have to stay here must reduce our exposure to the air. But these are limited measures. The battle against pollution is tough and an emergency response action plan has kicked in. We must focus on implementing it," says Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director-research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment.

For many though, that wait is simply not worth the price of health. "I miss Delhi," says Deepikah. "But here in Goa, we can go out every day, play in the sand with my son and breathe freely."