Dabbawalas throw hat in ring

'Downpour' of pro-Anna sentiment

Dabbawalas throw hat in ring

When the dabbawala came to pick up the two lunch boxes from Anusuya Chakravarty's house at Goregaon on Thursday morning, he had a message for her. "We will not work tomorrow to show our support for Anna Hazare," he said. The 50-year-old homemaker was surprised by this decision as come rain or sunshine, the diligent dabbawala has been delivering the lunch boxes for her daughter and son-in-law for years. Similarly, over 2 lakh people will not get their lunch boxes delivered by the dabbawalas on Friday as their association is doing something they have never done in their 120-year-old history. After much bickering and afterthought, the dabbawalas' association have decided to strike work. The decision that was taken on Thursday will be put into effect by the Mumbai Jevan Dabbe Vahatuk Mandal on Friday. The 5,000-member association has already asked their customers to make provisions for themselves for that day. "We have decided that we will not deliver any dabba tomorrow. We have been telling our customers that we would stop work for a day. That day is tomorrow. As of now, it is a one-day thing and we will plan our strategy," said Kiran Gavande, secretary of the association. Gavande added the dabbawalas will gather at Azad Maidan on Friday and some might fast. "We are not forcing anyone to fast. If someone wants to, he can. This is being done in solidarity with Anna Hazare. We feel that the country needs the Jan Lokpal Bill and it should be put into effect," said Gavande. On August 5, when Anna was threatening to go an indefinite strike from August 15 onwards, dabbawalas had said that they would fast on August 16. "We did supply tiffins on that day but now we feel we have to strengthen our support. We will also march from Churchgate to Azad Maidan around 10.30am. Corruption is there at every level and the bill should cover all," said Parakash Andre, another dabbawala. For customers like Chakravarty, it is a small sacrifice on their part. "Considering what others are doing, just one day of foregoing the dabbawala's service is hardly anything. I don't think people should complain," she said.