Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra On 10-Minute Deliveries: No Civilised Society

The 10-minute food service forces delivery executives to break traffic rules, she said. (File photo)

New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted today that she will raise the issue of the 10-minute delivery service promised by food-ordering apps in the upcoming monsoon session of the parliament. The 10-minute food service not only forces delivery executives to break traffic rules but also puts the lives of other at risk, Ms Moitra said, calling for a regulation for such kind of food service.

“All this for a quicker pizza,” reasoned the MP from Krishnanagar, West Bengal.

10 minute deliveries need to be regulated/outlawed.
No civilised society can be incentivising delivery executives to break traffic rules & put own & other’s lives at risk. All for a quicker pizza.

Am going to raise this in parliament.

– Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 29, 2022

In March, online food delivery platform Zomato came under intense criticism by some over its 10-minute delivery service. Many pointed out that it will push delivery partners into a tough and unsafe working environment.

At the time, its founder, Deepinder Goyal, tweeted the 10-minute delivery service “will be for specific nearby locations, popular and standardised items only.”

Zomato delivery partners, Mr Goyal said, are not informed about the promised delivery time for both 10- and 30-minute deliveries.

“No penalties for late deliveries. No incentives for on-time deliveries for both 10- and 30-minute deliveries,” Mr Goyal said on a Twitter thread. “We are building new food stations to enable to 10-minute service for specific customer locations only,” he added.

Many on social media had labelled the 10-minute food service as unnecessary and potentially dangerous for delivery partners. Cyber security expert Jiten Jain was among the several people who expressed concern that Zomato’s 10-minute delivery promise would make the job of delivery partners tougher. “10 minutes sounds amazing as a customer. But honestly this would surely make your delivery staff tense and reckless. Am sure, 30 minutes is worth waiting for delicious food arriving at our doorsteps,” Mr Jain tweeted.

“We continue to education our delivery partners on road safety, and provide accidental and life insurance as well,” Mr Goyal had said at the time.

Zomato is not the first company to have faced online heat over the 10-minute delivery service.

In 2021, the founder of online grocery startup Grofers (now Blinkit), facing heat over the company’s promise to deliver groceries in 10 minutes, has clarified that the presence of its stores in densely located areas and the company’s “good” in-store planning and tech ensures most of the orders are packed in “under 2.5 minutes” which was the the basis of the announcement.

In a statement on Twitter, Albinder Dhindsa also said that it “breaks my heart” to see the criticism that his company has been receiving over the announcement.

“….instead of celebrating innovations (and startup success) coming from India, some of us stay cynical/envious of people who are trying to break the status quo,” he said in a statement on Twitter.

“We need more people who dare, and less of those who pull them down,” he added.