Decades old system slows down, earnings halved as LPG crisis hits Mumbai Dabbawalas
India Today
According to the Dabbawalas, this crisis has hit hardest those customers who relied on community kitchens (messes) or small-scale food providers for their meals.
The crisis around the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders is now having a direct impact on the 150-year-old Dabbawala system—an institution synonymous with Mumbai, the country's financial capital.
In the early morning hours—spanning the stretch from Churchgate to Dadar and Bandra—where Dabbawalas clad in their signature white 'Gandhi caps' were once a common sight, delivering thousands of tiffins on bicycles and local trains without stopping to even breathe, their pace has now visibly slowed down in many areas.
According to the Dabbawalas, this crisis has hit hardest those customers who relied on community kitchens (messes) or small-scale food providers for their meals.
With the disruption in gas cylinder supplies forcing the closure of numerous messes, the tiffin delivery service has inevitably suffered.
Kiran Gavande, General Secretary of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association reflects on the present crisis, saying, “Due to the shortage of gas cylinders, our customer base has dwindled significantly. While we previously handled thousands of tiffins daily, there has now been a drastic decline in those numbers. This has had a direct and immediate impact on our income.”
The organization's president, Ulhas Muqe, echoed, “The Dabbawala system has been operating continuously for the past 150 years; however, a gas supply issue of this nature has impacted our operations at this scale for the very first time,” adding, “With the closure of numerous messes, the volume of tiffin deliveries has declined significantly. Moreover, the income of the Dabbawalas has nearly halved. If this situation persists, we will face a severe struggle to sustain our livelihoods in the days to come.”
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