After being out of business for more than half a year, Mumbai's famed Dabbawalas are trying to make a comeback.
On Thursday, 30 to 40 Dabbawalas started operating in local trains of Central Railways and Western Railways.
With Unlock 5, the Dabbawlas have been allowed to travel in suburban locals in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust (NMTBSCT) and Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (MTBSA) have expressed happiness over the re-starting of Dabbawala services. However, the days ahead are tough.
“Finally after six months we have been able to start the service,” said Subhash Talekar, senior leader of the Dabbawala community.
There are around 4,500 to 5,000 Dabbawalas who work in Mumbai. However, now most of them are back in Rajgurunagar (Khed) in Pune district, from where they hail. Many of them are earning livelihood from agriculture-related work or are hired by companies in the MIDC area.
“We have been serving Mumbai for 130 years now. While this fills our stomachs, we have never considered this a business; it has always been to provide our service to the people of this city. We have put in a lot of hard work and labour to ensure that your dabbas (tiffins) reach you on time,” said Talekar.
Mumbai Dabawala’s everyday deliver nearly 2 lakh lunch boxes to offices. The Dabbawalas, who have developed their own Unique Identity code, rarely misdeliever the lunch box.
The Mumbai Dabbawalas are an example of time management – and the accuracy of delivering dabbas(tiffin boxes) has also been an example in the IIMs, IITs and other top institutes.