Those in Mumbai’s 130-year-old dabbawalla system rarely have other sources of income
Bombay:
Mumbai’s dabbawalas will now be allowed to board local trains in the city, under government unlock guidelines. However, the problems of these food delivery people may not be over yet.
In the six months since they halted deliveries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, their bikes have rusted, adding to their expenses even as the customer base has dwindled.
“I used to deliver 25 to 26 tiffin a day. Now the number is around five. The income has gone down. And our cycles have also rusted,” said Shantaram Gargunde, one of those dabbawalla. .
Since the lockdown, many people have been working from home. Few people benefit from tiffin service under the circumstances.
However, those who are part of the city’s 130-year-old dabbawalla system rarely have other sources of income.
“We have rents to pay, our expenses have increased. I even had to take money from someone to buy phones for my children’s online education, ”explains Shankar Kadam, a dabbawalla.
Five thousand of these men deliver 2 lakh tiffin porters around Mumbai every day. In recent weeks, however, they’ve only processed 400-500 deliveries.
In its latest Mission Begin Again notification, the government of Maharashtra ordered dabbawalas to obtain QR codes to access stations and trains. It’s a hiccup for the food delivery service.
“We need QR codes to get on trains. Now there are already over a lakh of people waiting to get QR codes. So how will the dabbawalas who stay away fill out the forms?” asks Nitin Sawant, a dabbawalla.
In addition, the government also allowed restaurants, bars and hotels to open from Monday after a six-month hiatus, adding to competition from dabbawalas.
