Mumbai’s dabbawalas suspend tiffin services on western railways route after bridge collapse in Andheri

The collapse of a foot overbridge on the Western Railway tracks in Andheri on Tuesday morning will leave many office goers hungry with Mumbai’s famed dabbawalas suspending all their tiffin box deliveries on the WR routes. The services would continue on other routes.

Heavy overnight rains and waterlogging in many areas is suspected to have led to the collapse of the bridge. Work was on to remove the debris from the WR tracks which blocked services in both directions, hitting Mumbai commuters bound for their offices.

Dabbawalas usually take suburban trains to deliver cheap home-cooked food mainly to office goers across the length and breadth of Mumbai. Approximately 5000 men deliver more than two lakh dabbas or tiffins across India’s financial capital.

The dabbawala service which started 125 years ago, is now a Rs 40-45-crore industry with an average monthly fee of Rs 450 a box.

Dabbawalas reportedly have a six-sigma accuracy level, which means only one mistake is made every 16 million deliveries.

Several management experts across the globe use Mumbai dabbawalas as a case study, citing their near-perfect managerial operations in a mega-city.