Mumbai: On a day when office -goers faced difficulty in reaching their workplaces, the city’s dabbawalas suspended all their tiffin box deliveries on the Western line and a section of the Harbour line on Tuesday. The services on the Central line, and the Harbour line towards Thane and Navi Mumbai remained unaffected.
Nearly 5,000 men mainly depend on suburban trains to deliver home-cooked food in more than two lakh dabbas every day. The services which started 125 years ago, is now a ₹40-45-crore industry with an average monthly fee of ₹450 per box.
“Such disruptions don’t happen often. But it is not within our control as all four lines of the Western Railway’s suburban services have come to halt,” a member of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association said.
Dabbawalas claim a six-sigma accuracy level, which means only one mistake is made every 16 million deliveries. Mumbai dabbawalas are already being used as a case study, given their near-perfect managerial operations.
Suresh Bachche, a dabbawala who delivers around Dadar, said, “No dabbas could be delivered today because the Western Railway line was shut. There was no loss to the business; the only worry is the customers who would have been inconvenienced.”
Subhash Talekar, who does delivery services around Byculla had a similar experience. “We couldn’t deliver as the trains weren’t running. If they are back on track tomorrow, the services will resume.”
However, not everyone was affected. Ashok Sakpal, an employee with Bank of India at Charni Road, said, “I got my dabba on time despite the rain because my dabbawalla lives in Girgaum and could deliver as he did not have to take the local train.”
Low attendance
Attendance in offices were low. A few companies even asked their employees to work from home. “We got an email from our managing director to stay safe and to take a call whether we need to come to office after heavy rain and bridge collapse,” an employee of consulting firm Deolitte said.
Employees of a law firm said those living in Bandra and to its south managed to reach offices without difficulty. “The roads were clear. Most of those who don’t depend on the trains managed. Only those residing in Andheri and beyond were affected and allowed to work from home,” an employee said.
