Not all heroes wear capes, and the Mumbai’s dabbawalas are a perfect fit for this phrase.
Mumbai’s beloved dabbawalas, who keep the city running by delivering fresh, warm meals on time, somehow always manage to win our hearts.
Tiffin services were suspended on 3 July, after the collapse of a bridge in Andheri led to a partial disruption of rail services.
As rain engulfed the city, and a transport crisis run amok, the dabbawalas made sure to feed as many people as possible the following day with the leftover food that was undelivered in the wake of the bridge collapse.
Under their ‘Roti Bank’ initiative and tiffin service, the dabbawalas made use of the two large vans in their posession to pick up the leftover food and distribute it to those who could not afford a meal. The dabbawalas visited slum areas and areas near hospitals in a bid to try and reach all those who were in need of food.
As soon as we learned that services were suspended between Churchgate and Virar around 7.30 am, we sent out messages to our boys to halt the collection of tiffins from homes. Those who had done so were told to return them. Otherwise, the food would have got spoilt, as there was no way of making deliveriesSubhash Talekar, Spokesperson of Mumbai Dabbawala Association to The Times of India
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