With more work and better pay, deliverymen are on a roll again

Their job was always tough and dangerous but the lockdown made it precarious. As food orders dried up and

containment rules

curbed the movement of non-essentials, delivery riders stared at an uncertain future. The fear of infection gnawed on their minds but the dread of hunger was greater. Many returned to their villages and small towns.


Baleshwar Yadav stayed on although food orders had thinned to a trickle. He signed up on several food delivery platforms for more work. When that didn’t help, he turned to ecommerce companies as they were still getting orders.

The lockdown bit Saabir Ali’s family hard. While he kept his delivery job with Amazon, his father and younger brother lost theirs. Even Ali had less work. But those days are in the past now, he says. “Most roads have opened, so I am able to deliver quickly and things seem more normal.”

Read more from this series

Gaurav Pal, who delivers for Grofers, agrees. Work is more stable, the shifts shorter and he is able to spend more time with his 10-month-old child. “Our team of six was delivering just 60-70 orders a day. Now, we share more than 140 orders. Our incentive pay has increased.” Pal said his take-home had increased from Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000-22,000.

Pintu, who also delivers for Grofers, said he earns Rs 3,000 more now as the deliveries have doubled in the Unlock phase. “In the lockdown, we could not reach some of the areas, and sometimes I didn’t get even 10 deliveries in a day. But things are better now.”

A Flipkart spokesperson also told TOI that the unlock phase has made ecommerce operations smoother and they are delivering “essentials and non-essentials across 100% of serviceable pin codes across the country.”

Besides better pay, delivery personnel have another source of satisfaction now: a realisation of the important role they play in keeping others safe. “During the lockdown, there were times when I delivered goods at houses with infants and the elderly, who are completely housebound,” said Monu Kumar, who works at Flipkart’s Okhla delivery hub. “Once, I had to take the stairs to a fifth-floor house to deliver essentials to an elderly person living alone. I was extra cautious and followed every step of our company’s hygiene regulations.” He said he is less anxious about his own safety now as he follows the safe delivery rules religiously.

Rakesh, who came to Delhi six years ago and works for another delivery platform, said he is happy to have got through four months of the

pandemic

safely. “While I have more orders to deliver now, I remain careful at every step.

(This story is part of a series in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.)

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.