An Indian-origin venture capitalist has stirred a serious row online, where his X post discussing the air quality crisis in India is receiving mixed reactions from users.

Debarghya aka Deedy Das, a popular tech influencer and a former employee with Google, who currently runs his own venture capital (VC) firm, passed a few remarks on the air quality.

In an X post, the San Francisco resident wrote, “Every time I’m in India, I notice my eyes water more, I blow my nose more and people in general cough more.”

He remarks, “I don’t think human bodies were meant to live like this.”

Sharing an anecdote from his visit to Delhi last week during a wedding, he recalled, “Yesterday, I was at a wedding in Delhi where one side was American. When asked about India, they were polite at first. When I got to know them though, they said “yeah the air is crazy here. Im trying to be careful. I don't know if it's safe to even workout.””

Every time I'm in India, I notice my eyes water more, I blow my nose more and people in general cough more.

My parents always said these were "allergies" but whenever they come to visit me in the US, they miraculously disappear.

We live in denial of a massive health crisis.

— Deedy (@deedydas) November 30, 2024

Criticising the misconception surrounding India’s air quality standards, Das wrote, “And this is not an AQI subtweet. The narrative that “only Delhi winters are bad” is ridiculous. People in the “clean” city of Bangalore also cough all the time, have clogged noses and a long list of “allergies”. I lived there for a year and can attest to that.”

Like most, a user, backing Das’ statements, wrote, “There’s dust and pollution in the air of every major city in India. Literally a health crisis for sure!”

However, some were quick to field arguments against his observation, with comments like “You have weak immunity”.

His post has garnered a strong response, with over 2 million views, over 28,000 likes, and over 2,900 retweets on the micro-blogging site.