The Dabbawalas of Mumbai that has been functioning in the city since the 1890s, delivering warm home-cooked meals to the workplaces of the residents in the island city, have been facing woes of their own during the outbreak of the pandemic.
In recent developments, the state government had permitted the dabbawalas to travel by the suburban railways across the city which is ferrying people engaged in essential services as of now. However, the requirement for the QR code for travelling has ensued confusion amongst many. Several dabbawalas, as a result, have stated their uncertainties with the system. Moreover, as per reports, there are lakhs of people waiting to procure QR codes. Therefore, it has become increasingly difficult for the dabbawalas to procure these, especially the ones who stay far off.
Subhash Talekar, President of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association, has recently spoken about the same. Talekar has spoken about the many worries of the dabbawalas adding that many of them do not even have android phones. This makes it very difficult for the uneducated dabbawala to obtain a QR code. Talekar has further requested the government to permit the Dabbawalas to travel on the local train on the basis on their own identity cards.
As a result of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the regular flow of income has taken a hit, especially in the case of the Dabbawalas. However, ever since the plight of the famous dabbawalas came to the forefront, many people have come forward to save this indigenous business Mumbai is famous for. Since 1890, the dabbawalas have been fulfilling the hunger of almost 200,000 Mumbaikars with home-cooked food. This move by the government even though has been made to make the lives of the dabbawalas easier, the technological setbacks regarding the same has made the situation difficult to tread.
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