New Delhi: As New Delhi prepared to host a bevy of world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the G20 Summit being held under India’s presidency this weekend, those working as delivery executives in the national capital battled concern over the three-day loss of income that the big-ticket international event had turned into for them.
While all schools, colleges and offices in the national capital were closed between Friday and Sunday, as part of security arrangements for summit of the intergovernmental forum, which will see leaders of member countries being present in Delhi, roads in many parts of the city were also been made off limits to the public — especially those around the Bharat Mandapam (Pragati Maidan), the venue for the summit.
Commercial establishments such as shops and restaurants too remain closed in many New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas during this time. Delhi Police has, however, made it clear that essential services — such as pharmacies, Mother Dairy booths and hospitals will be open throughout the three days.
“We only want to tell the government that all the roadblocks are creating a difficulty for us. We have to work everyday to eat. The government should think about us as well,” Amir Khan, a delivery executive with a food delivery platform, told ThePrint.
Shops, commercial and business establishments in the zone he is assigned to – Connaught Place, Khan Market, Janpath and large parts of the NDMC area – are closed between 8-10 September.
For Khan, who lives within the New Delhi police district, even a change in the zone he delivers to during these days would make little difference, as it will difficult for him to cover the distance between his home and the assigned areas, with the roadblocks increasing both his travel time and cost, he rued.
Subash (who identified himself by his first name only), a delivery executive with another different food delivery platform, also told ThePrint that for the three days when restrictions will be in place in Delhi, he will most likely stay at home, as he had not received any notification on re-assigning of zones for the three days. The delivery executive usually works in the Connaught Place-Khan Market area.
“For three days the markets are closed [in my zone]. For three days there is no work. This is causing great difficulty for me. We will be locked in our houses during the three days [of G20] and we do not know how we will eat, how we will earn? It will be very difficult for us,” Subash claimed.
Subash and Khan estimated their daily earnings to be in the range of Rs. 800 to 1,500, made by delivering food to homes and offices through food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy.
In a written statement to ThePrint, Zomato said, “We will be fully operational for our customers in Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, throughout the G20 summit. We will also be operational in all of Delhi, except only for the small part of the NDMC [New Delhi Municipal Council] area where the G20 summit is being hosted.”
ThePrint has also reached Swiggy on email. The report will be updated if a response is received.
Meanwhile, Vinod Kumar, president, India SME Forum, which represents small and medium enterprises, told ThePrint that the shutdown of busy commercial areas will not only mean loss of income to business establishments, but also send the wrong message to the world — that India lacks the wherewithal to hold such an important summit without shutting parts of the city down.
The government could have sanitised the markets for VIP delegates or found other means to diffuse the situation other than a shutdown, he said, adding, “It could have kept shops open only for international delegates, to give them an experience of the culture in New Delhi.”
ThePrint has reached the G20 Secretariat over phone and WhatsApp for comment on whether there was any possible option other than a shutdown of establishments in the New Delhi police district. The report will be updated if a response is received.
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‘Lost the right to livelihood for three days’
Kumar, who is also the trustee and president, Forum for Internet Retailers, Sellers and Traders (FIRST) India, told ThePrint that delivery executives in the national capital had “lost the right to livelihood for three days”.
He added: “The National Capital Region has over a lakh of gig workers [delivery executives]. At least nine-to-ten-thousand [of these] would be out of work for three days.”
The three-day closure will also mean loss of business for commercial establishments which are a part of the summit’s high-security area.
Shops and businesses in popular markets such as Connaught Place, Khan Market, Janpath Market and Bengali Market are expected to remain closed for the three days. According to media estimates, the Connaught Place market alone does business of about Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 150 crore a day.
“No other G20 conference has led to the shutdown of an entire city,” Kumar alleged. He added: “In more difficult security situations seen in places like Jammu and Kashmir in India, the government was able to hold a G20 ministerial meeting without shutting down Srinagar. But they have not done so here.”
Kumar also told ThePrint that most retailer associations had approached the government over the preparations for the summit. “It is a matter of pride that India is hosting leaders and delegates, but the government decided to shut down the markets completely,” he added.
According to Kumar, retailers had initially hoped for an increase in footfall in the markets owing to the presence of the G20 delegates. But the closure of markets left retailers disappointed, he claimed.
A restaurant owner who did not wish to be named, said, however, “Why would I keep my restaurant open when there would be less footfall over the weekend? This way I can spend time with my family that I may otherwise not be able to, and my staff can rest as well.”
Expectations of reassignment to new zones
Meanwhile, some delivery executives, who have been informed by the respective platforms they are associated with, of having their services being reassigned to those parts of Delhi where deliveries are allowed these three days, still expect income to be lower than usual.
Anand (who identified himself by his first name only), a third delivery executive ThePrint spoke to said his zone includes the capital’s Lajpat Nagar and Saket areas, apart from Connaught Place and Khan Market. While he hopes to be able to continue delivering food in the first two areas over the summit days, he expects a drop in earnings through the weekend, since many restaurants will remain closed.
“I earn about Rs. 1,300 to 1,500 daily. But over these three days I expect to earn about Rs. 800 to 900. But this depends whether customers order food or not. If there are orders, I will go, but if not then I do not know,” Anand told ThePrint.
M. Mustakhim, another delivery executive with a food delivery platform, too had not received a notification for zone reassignment as of Thursday evening.
“I have not received a new zone yet. So yes it would be difficult for me if I do not get the notification. But if I do, even if I have to travel far, I will go and it should help,” Mustakhim explained to ThePrint.
Luv [who identified himself by his first name only] was among the few delivery executives ThePrint spoke to, whose zone had been changed for these three days, for him to be able to continue working.
“The notification for a different zone from my current one, covering central Delhi, has come. I am not too worried,” he told ThePrint Thursday. He did not, however, specify which was his changed zone.
Another delivery executive to have received a zone change notification was Amit Kumar, who works for a grocery delivery platform.
Meanwhile, for Amir Khan, his only request to the government is to think of workers who survive on daily wages before bringing in such restrictions.
“We feel helpless. But you cannot win against the government. We earn every day, we live hand to mouth and it will be difficult for us for the next three days. The government should think about workers like us,” Khan added.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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