Virus halts dabbawala services

nMUMBAI: Mumbai’s dabbawalas, who deliver meals from homes and eateries to people at their workplaces, will stop services from Friday onwards till March 31 as the financial capital tries to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

The city’s dabbawala system has been the subject of business school case studies because of the clockwork efficiency with which tiffin boxes are picked up and delivered and the empty boxes returned by the men in white using the suburban train network, handcarts and bicycles.

The Mumbai dabbawala Association Thursday said they will restart services on April 1, in deference to the Maharashtra government’s entreaties to people to stay home and avoid crowded places.

A partial shutdown across the city has already affected the business of the city’s 5,000 dabbawalas, who are susceptible to contracting the virus as they transport the lunches in packed suburban trains. Many of their clients are also working from home to avoid public contact.

“All schools are shut. Some offices are closed as well. On average, if a dabbawala delivers 35 tiffin boxes, he’s doing 12 now. It doesn’t make sense to risk your life for 12 dabbas,” said Subhash Talekar, spokesperson, dabbawala Association.

In normal times, the dabbawalas deliver around 200,000 tiffin boxes daily.

The dabbawala service, which started 125 years ago, has an estimated annual turnover of around ₹45 crore.

MUMBAI DABBAWALA ASSOCIATION THURSDAY SAID THEY WILL RESTART SERVICES

ONLY ON APRIL 1