MUMBAI: The famed dabbawalas of Mumbai have got their long cherished demand fulfilled. The Central Railway has allocated one luggage compartment entirely for lunchbox carriers during morning and afternoon hours. Despite the morning rush hours that makes commuting on the suburban railways being a harrowing task the dabbawalas have been managing and transporting two lakh lunchboxes with an enviable six sigma efficiency of 99.9999 per cent. Once the tiffins are picked from the homes, it goes to the nearest railway station by dabbawalas on a cycle or handcarts. Thus the suburban railway are integral part of the dabbawalas’ transport network.
One of the three luggage compartments of the 12 coach suburban train has been reserved exclusively for the dabbawalas from 10 to 12.30 in the morning and 2.30 to 4.30 in the afternoon. Currently the privilege of reserved coaches has only been given to ladies, physically challenged and cancer patients. “The dabbawalas provide a service is time bound and the morning rush hours would invariably add to their strain of carrying the weighted wooden racks laden with tiffin boxes. This was a very old demand that has been justly fulfilled by the Central Railway authorities. We hope Western Railway would also follow suit,” said Dr Pawan Agarwal of Mumbai, who has done a doctoral research on the dabbawalas. On average each of the 5,000 dabbawalas carry 40-50 lunchboxes in wooden racks that weigh about 65 kgs. “It is truly a marvel how the dabbawalas navigate the morning rush hours on the suburban railways. They face abuses of commuters who are inconvenienced by the five feet long wooden racks and they just focus on their work of taking the lunches to its destination with an unwavering focus,” said Dr Agarwal.
After suburban railway were introduced as a regular service in 1865, the dabbawalas were one of the first from the organised sector to tap the potentials of the railways when they started their service in 1890 in Mumbai.