Delivery agents risk their lives as they race against time to avoid penalties

Delivery agents are putting their lives at risk as they hurry to complete their deliveries and avoid penalties. This is resulting in a significant increase in accidents involving delivery agents.

On Holi, two delivery agents lost their lives in separate accidents while on duty. They were hit by cars as they rushed to make their deliveries on time and avoid penalties. One of the deceased, Bunty, worked as a delivery boy in Noida and was hit by an unidentified car driver while on his way to deliver an order. He later passed away in the hospital due to his injuries.

The other agent, Deepak, who worked for Big Basket, was hit by a car near Lotus Boulevard society and was taken to a government hospital where he also passed away during treatment. The police have arrested the car driver in the second incident.

The increasing number of such accidents highlights the tough competition and pressure that they face to complete their deliveries within a fixed time duration. The police attribute this pressure to companies imposing strict time limits on their delivery agents, who often resort to breaking traffic rules and over-speeding to meet the deadlines. The extra weight that delivery agents carry while driving also contributes to accidents.

One delivery partner, Bal Govind Mishra, narrated his experience of being fined by a food App based company for failing to deliver an order due to a health emergency. Mishra alleges that the company earns a significant amount of money but pays a meager amount to the delivery agents. He also stated that restaurant workers sometimes deceive the agents by falsely notifying them that the order is ready on the App, causing them to wait for long intervals. Mishra described the work as strenuous and exhausting, with a lot of pressure to complete orders within the stipulated time.