'Bengaluru people too cough often': Indian-origin VC sparks debate on ‘massive health crisis'

Indian-origin tech influencer Debarghya aka Deedy Das posted a now-viral thread on air pollution in Indian cities such as Delhi and Bengaluru.

An Indian-origin venture capitalist sparked a widespread discussion online after he called out what he termed "a massive health crisis" in India.

Debarghya (Deedy) Das is a principal at Menlo Ventures, and is based in Palo Alto, California, (LinkedIn/debarghyadas)

Debarghya aka Deedy Das, a popular tech influencer, said that every time he visits India, his eyes water more and that he ends up coughing more.

"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," said Das, who is based in San Francisco.

"We live in denial of a massive health crisis."

Last week, Das attended a wedding in Delhi, among the most polluted cities in the world, and, recalled a conversation about the poor quality of air.

"I was at a wedding in Delhi where one side was American. When asked about India, they were polite at first," he said.

"When I got to know them though, they said 'yeah the air is crazy here I'm trying to be careful. I don't know if it's safe to even workout.'," Das said, recalling the chat.

The former Google engineer, who did his schooling in Kolkata, moved to the United States for college.

In another post in the same thread on X, Deedy Das pointed out that surviving tough conditions such as poor air quality should not be seen as a symbol of strength and pride, but rather as a cause for concern and alarm.

“The narrative that “only Delhi winters are bad” is ridiculous. People in the ‘clean’ city of Bangalore (Bengaluru) 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,” Das said.

Take a look at the viral post:

While a large number of people, including a few non-resident Indians, agreed with the points made by Das, a section of users slammed him for his post on India.

A user went to the extent of blaming Das's "weak immunity".

The first post in the thread got over 1.9 million views, 28,000 'likes' and over 1,000 replies.