Amid Covid19 Lockdown; Mumbai`s Dabbawalas Face Financial Crisis

Mumbai: Under normal circumstances, about 5,000 dabbawalas were part of the intricate network that delivers food to offices from their homes, their work has been severely affected by the ongoing Covid19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed.

With this their 95 per cent of business is closed, only 350 dabbawalas are on the move.

Though, dabbawalas are not allowed to travel on the local trains, forcing many to travel 40 to 45 kilometres daily by cycle. Many have taken up temporary work to make ends meet.

Vishnu Kaldoke, a spokesperson of Mumbai`s dabbawalas said that help has been sought from the government but they are yet to receive any kind of relief.

“The government has promised to help but we have not received any help from yet. Mumbai`s dabbawalas are following all Covid-19 rules but now we desperately need financial help. They should allow us to travel by local train,” he said.

“I am very grateful to Mumbaikars who have helped us during this difficult time. But the government should also take note of this, provide financial assistance and allow us to travel by the local train,” he said.

However, Under the guidelines, all establishments, public places, activities have remained closed in the state. Only essential services have been exempted, and their operations are unrestricted.

As per the data, Cases have come down considerably over the last week. 24,136 new Covid-19 cases, 36,176 patient discharges, and 601 were reported deaths on Wednesday. Meanwhile, there are currently 3,14,368 active cases in the state. A total of 52,18,768 discharges and 90,349 deaths have been reported so far.

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