‘Health comes first’: Finance head quits pharma firm over Delhi's air pollution

For anyone living in Delhi, the air can feel like the last straw some days. This winter, it has already pushed one senior executive to walk away from his job.Rajkumar Bafna, the finance head at Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, has resigned, citing Delhi’s worsening pollution as the reason. His decision was disclosed through a stock exchange filing and has struck a chord with many residents who have been struggling through another season of toxic air. In his resignation note, Bafna didn’t dress it up with corporate language. He was direct and blunt. He wrote that because of Delhi’s pollution levels, he was stepping down from his role as President – Finance and asked to be relieved at the earliest. He also offered support during the transition, if needed. According to the filing, Bafna submitted his resignation earlier this month, and the company accepted it a few days later. Akums, in its response, said it was saddened by the decision but understood the circumstances. The management acknowledged that his health concerns made it impossible to convince him to stay on.He will officially be relieved from his position at the end of December.The episode is a reminder of how serious Delhi’s air crisis has become. Every winter, a mix of emissions, crop burning, construction dust and weather conditions traps pollution over the city. And every year, residents brace themselves for weeks, sometimes months, of hazardous air.Data from pollution monitoring agencies show that the Air Quality Index in the capital has repeatedly slipped into the “very poor” and “severe” categories this season. AQI readings crossing 300 or even 400 have become disturbingly common, levels that doctors warn are dangerous even for people with no existing health issues. While the company didn’t spell it out in detail, its response makes it clear that Bafna’s decision was tied to health concerns linked to the pollution. For many Delhiites, this isn’t surprising. Coughs that don’t go away, burning eyes, breathlessness, these have become part of everyday life.A senior executive choosing to quit rather than continue breathing this air says a lot. Not just about one company or one resignation, but about the cost of living in a city where clean air has started to feel like a luxury.