‘We are breathing smog to survive’: Delhi’s dirty air is killing the city’s invisible workforce

Trapped in toxic smog and insecure, many of the Indian capital’s informal workers still end up risking their health for a day’s wages

On a cold January morning in Mehrauli, in south Delhi, in a one-room shanty, 36-year-old Meneka Deviki coughs and her chest feels tight, but she cannot skip a day of work. It would mean no food on the table for her family of five.

The air is enveloped in a grey haze, and it carries a chill and a slight smell.