'When I realized that we were delivering food to people just like me, this became more than just work'
I work as a supervisor at Hey DeeDee. When the lockdown started, the company asked me if I wanted to continue working by delivering food packets for khaanchahiye, with whom Hey DeeDee has a tie-up. I agreed then because I didn't want my salary to stop. But when I realized that we were delivering food to people just like me, this became more than just work. You see, I hail from Osmanabad and came to Mumbai looking for work.
I start every day at 8:00 AM, complete around two hours of company work, and then head to the khaanachahiye's dispatch center in Bandra. My route consists of areas like. I finish the distribution of approximately a thousand packets, covering Mahim, Dharavi, Sion, and Wadala, driving almost forty kilometers. I reach back home around 3:00 PM, clean-up, and sanitize myself with a bath and have my lunch. I head out again for the evening-distribution of another thousand meals. Once that is done, after completing a few work-related deliveries, I reach home by 8:30 PM and go through the sanitization process again. This has been my routine for the past month, from the day khaanachahiye started food distribution."
You've been working for more than twelve hours outdoors every day for a month, and you didn't feel like taking a break?
"Well, I agree that it is a little hectic. I'm unable to keep my Ramadan-fasts because of this work, especially since it is summer, and I have to stay out for so long. But as I said this has become far more than a job now. In fact, the thought that I am helping a thousand others to keep their fasts by delivering evening meals brings me peace. Both my company and khaanachahiye suggested that I catcha break. But if I am taking a break, it will be to take my kids to Osmanabad. My parents, who live there, are terrified about the fact that I am stepping out daily. Before lockdown, they used to call me not more than twice a week, but now I get calls from them three or four times a day. They want at least my kids to be sent to Osmanabad. But till the district borders open up, I can't do that. My parents keep saying that I shouldn't go out like this. But I try to make them understand that this is both work and service for me.
Hopefully, the lockdown will be over by the 3rd, and I shall take my kids to my parents. I shall catch an extended break then
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