Mumbai: BJP MLA slams BMC for setting up welfare centre for dabbawalas far from railway station

Maharashtra BJP MLA Ashish Shelar on Monday criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) move of setting up a welfare centre for dabbawalas, the city's famed tiffin carriers, far away from suburban railway stations.

Shelar said if his party comes to power, it will set up a new such facility for the dabbawalas.

The Shiv Sena-controlled BMC on Sunday inaugurated the Dabbewala Bhavan in suburban Khar.

Shelar in a Twitter post on Monday said the Urdu Bhavan is built near a railway station, but the Dabbewala Bhavan has been opened in Khar area of Mumbai. It is far from a suburban station and located in a community hall of a residential society, he noted.

The facility has been set up by closing an existing COVID-19 vaccination centre. This is "cheating" with the dabbawalas, the leader from the opposition party claimed.

"The BJP will erect a new bhavan for dabbewalas when we come to power. It will honour the dabbewalas who have earned accolades from international media as well," the MLA from Mumbai tweeted.

Over 5,000 dabbawalas run the tiffin delivery service in the metropolis.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, they used to deliver over two lakh tiffins to office-goers on normal working days.

They use suburban trains to ensure lunch boxes are delivered at the destination on time.