Long hours, work on holidays, standing through the wrath of weather and public service - activist and motivational speaker Dr Pawan Agrawal drew the parallels between Mumbai's Dabbawalas and the traffic police. Talking to The Indian Express, Dr Agrawal said that both are thankless jobs. "The motivation would never come from appreciation, as both are taken for granted. The motivation for police should be what it is for the dabbawalas. Public satisfaction, of individuals and family," he said. On Friday, at an event organised by the Delhi Police at the Police Headquarters in Connaught Place, Dr Agrawal talked about how the Dabbawalas have managed to make error-free deliveries for the last 134 years, with rarely any misplaced or missed deliveries. "In Mumbai, almost all dabbawalas take the local train. Yet, the trains might get late but they don't. They reach stations 30 minutes in advance to make sure that the deliveries are on time. Availability is key," he said. There has never been a single strike by dabbawalas, despite the low pay and long working hours, he highlighted. "They have never skipped work, even if the city is flooded. Traffic personnel also, be it festivals or the harsh Delhi weather, are always on ground," he said. Some personnel, however, pointed out that administrative differences hamper the efficiency of traffic police in a way it doesn't for the dabbawalas. "The reason the dabba system is so good is that it's a system created by the workers who practice it. They understand what's needed. In the police, the administrative orders come from above," a traffic inspector attending the event said.
