Delivering happiness in tough times

NEW DELHI: Every time Pawan Girdhar, 30, ventures out of his Mehrauli home in the evening, he doesn’t need to be reminded to wear his company shirt. “Sometimes, this is the only thing that saves me from the police canes,” Girdhar smiles.
Girdhar is aware that many of the food delivery app company’s executives don’t wear the bright orange shirt of the firm and so face the cop’s ire at a time when all movements on the roads are prohibited.“It is a basic thing but many ignore it,” Girdhar says. “Just a few minutes ago, I was stopped at a picket. I was scared for a moment, but I told them I was delivering food and they let me go.”
The government has exempted food delivery services from the lockdown, so the lanky executive leaves the relative protection of his house and embarks on his ride across the city. He takes care to pull on a mask, wash his hands regularly and maintain a safe distance from one and all.
“What is the point of getting worried? I am a graduate, so am educated enough to know that if I take the necessary precautions I will be fine,” the man says brightly. “I am part of an essential service. I need to be out for people who rely on food ordered from outside and also to earn a living for me and my mother.”
During the initial days of the nationwide lockdown, food delivery executives were stopped by the cops and many were even beaten up. Now with clarity in the guidelines, Delhi Police has directed all its personnel to allow people and vehicles engaged in essential services passage on the capital’s roads. All traffic, picket and beat staff have been briefed to allow identified retailers, operators and online delivery services to operate.
This has come as a relief not only to people who order meals from eateries, but also people like Girdhar. He works part-time for the food delivery app company and says that he takes home around Rs 500 after eight hours of work. “There are fulltime delivery people, too, and temporary ones who only work on the weekends when there is a big rush of orders. I have been doing this for over eight months now.”
He says, with some vexation, that earlier a message would tell him that for delivering an order, he would get Rs 50. Sometime later, the amount dropped to Rs 30 and now it is just Rs 20 per order.
So does he feel okay risking his health to earn Rs 20 per delivery? Do people make up for the meagre amount by saying thank you for a crucial service at a dire time? “Yes, many people do say ‘thank you’, but these days almost everyone maintains a safe distance,” reveals Girdhar. “That’s understandable. We can see they are happy to see us arriving with their orders despite being beaten up for venturing out in the curfew.” Having said this, he speeds away to another hungry home.