OUr system not feasible in other metros, say Mumbai Dabbawalas

Mumbai Dabbawala's brand ambassador Dr Pawan G Agrawal said that there are no plans of replicating this model of Dabbawala supply chain concept in any of the other metro cities in India.He said that a metro like Mumbai is typical with its large middle class population dependent on their carriers with home-cooked food delivered at work place and taken back to respective homes all connected with the lifeline of metro rail. He said that Dabbawala system is typical to Mumbai and not feasible in other cities.

He was in Warangal in connection with a programme at NIT on Sunday. He revealed in an exclusive chat with The Hans India that Dabbawala's concept was as old as 122 years now catering to employees in a buzzing and crowded city with two lakh tiffin boxes delivered to the clients. The clients need to pay just Rs 500 per month for delivery of their lunch boxes from respective homes. He revealed that Mumbai Dabbawalas got six Sigma rating with a score of 99.99966 as they never missed a delivery of box in its long history. He said that in all 5,000 Dabbawalas are paid a salary of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 and are mostly religious people as they neither smoke nor drink during their work hours of 8 to 9 hours daily or later.

For them their job is their passion as they need to carry most of their journey through local trains carrying carriers weighing 60 to 75 kg. To a question on literacy rate of Dabbawalas, he answered that nearly 30 per cent of them were illiterate and average of all their academics is 8th Class. How the organisation of Dabbawalas was able to retain all their employees, he said that they were offering free schooling for their children apart from Diwali bonus. Questioned on how Dabbawala system works, he said that all their clients numbering two lakh travel early at 6 am to their respective offices at distance of 50 to 60 km and carrying lunch boxes in local trains is a Herculean task. Homemakers had to get up 4 am to cook but with the Dabbawala facility she can handover the box latest by 9 am. He claims that these two reasons alone make Dabbawala system survive.