Zomato's "Smoked Chicken" Meme On Delhi Pollution Divides Internet

People in Delhi and adjoining areas have been gasping for clean air as the air quality index (AQI) in the city continues to remain in the poor to very poor category. As air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas worsens, memes mocking the pollution have taken over social media. While troubled residents are venting out their frustration on social media, brands are also taking this opportunity to showcase their creativity through cheeky one-liners and memes. The latest one comes from food delivery app Zomato, which posted a funny yet concerning meme that appears to resonate with Delhi-NCR residents.

In a tweet on November 7, Zomato apologised to the people of Delhi-NCR as their order of 'chicken' would get a smoky taste. Why? Due to the polluted air. Zomato wrote "Sorry Delhi-NCR, our chat support can't help if your chicken gets delivered as smoked chicken," along with a crying emoji.

See the tweet here:

sorry delhi-ncr, our chat support can't help if your chicken gets delivered as smoked chicken 😭

— zomato (@zomato) November 7, 2022

The post has collected more than 12,000 likes along with 815 retweets so far. While several users joined along and shared their pollution-related woes, some didn't find the joke funny.

One user posted, "I don't think that's supposed to be funny but it's okay.'' Another commented, "Delhites went from 'fogg chall raha hai' to 'smog challl raha hai''. A third said, "haha jokes on you Zomato.. this tweet is not visible for delhiites right now.'' A fourth criticised the food app for joking about a serious issue, saying, ''Zomato ko comedy aa rahi hai like bro ppl are dying here.''

A layer of smoky haze shrouded Delhi as its air quality deteriorated to the upper end of the "very poor" category on Tuesday due to calmer winds. The air quality is forecast to become worse over the next two days due to unhelpful meteorological conditions, according to a PTI report. The capital's 24-hour average AQI stood at 348 on Tuesday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.