Sixty per cent of their workforce, who are aged above 40-45 years, suffer from knee pain.
There will finally be some respite for the dabbawalas of Mumbai. The people who deliver food to the teeming work force of the city were given battery-operated bicycles on Monday for ease of travel. Sixty per cent of their workforce, who are aged above 40-45 years, suffer from knee pain.
As part of an initiative by Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray, these dabbawalas were given five fancy orange e-bicycles. "This will be aid all dabbawalas aged above 40 years. Most of them suffer from knee pain and these battery-operated bicycles will save them the trouble of pedalling," S Talekar, spokesperson, Mumbai Dabbawala Association.
This e-bicycle has a 250 kw motor that takes 3 hours to charge fully. Once it's charged, it can ply up to 80-100 km, depending on various factors. There is an on/off button with a console that allows the battery to go from low to high, which ultimately controls the speed.
Just by operating the battery, the cycle can run at 25 kmph. Coupled with pedalling, it can reach a speed of 40 kmph (which also depends on the fitness of the rider). If the battery is turned off, it can also operate as a regular cycle.
However, there are a few problems as well. "We cannot hang the dabbas on the handle, as there is very little space. Also, we think that this cycle wouldn't be able to bear the weight of more than 20 dabbas," said a dabbawala.
The cycle has a capacity of carrying dabbas weighing a maximum of 25 kg, while a regular bicycle has a capacity of up to 60 kg. Space constraint is an issue, too. "We will be upgrading the design of the bicycle to make room for more dabbas," said Dyaneshwar Nibe, of Nibe Motors, who provided these e-bicycles.
The cost factor is another botheration for the dabbawalas, as each of these e-bicycles cost around Rs 15,000, while the existing ones are priced around Rs 5,000. The dabbawalas wish to procure these cycles for their entire fleet of 5,000 cycles, and will speak to the manufacturers to address these issues.
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