: Snowy days, meagre returns give Kashmirs delivery drivers a bumpy ride #IndiaNEWS #Social <br>Wearing gloves, a helmet and multiple layers of clothing, he still shivers while riding his two-wheeler,

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Snowy days, meagre returns give Kashmirs delivery drivers a bumpy ride #IndiaNEWS #Social
<br>Wearing gloves, a helmet and multiple layers of clothing, he still shivers while riding his two-wheeler, which has an attached wicker basket containing harisa, a morning delicacy that keeps Kashmiris warm.
Daily frisking and harassment are nothing new for delivery executives, who have worked through successive lockdowns (from August 4, 2019, to February 6, 2021) triggered by the abrogation of Article 370 and the COVID-19 spread. That apart, vehicular and human surveillance poses a formidable challenge before them.
Farhans customers are scattered all over Srinagar downtown. He carries six hot harisa pots from Harisa by Kilo, a startup launched in 2020. The dish, which is available only in winters, contains minced meat cooked overnight with dal, spices and saffron.
Jammu and Kashmir saw a spurt in startups, mostly in the food and logistics sectors, following the abrogation of Article 370. While people became familiar with doorstep delivery during the COVID-19 period, ordering online was a struggle due to poor data connectivity. Hence, several orders were taken over the phone. Though there has hardly been an internet shutdown for a year now, many outlets continue to encourage phone calls fearing yet another data shutdown.
Initially, it was quite a struggle to deliver harisa to my customers amid the snow and chill. I start at 7 a. m. and reach back by 11 a. m. This is my routine from October to February/March, depending on the demand, says Farhan, who gets back to his accounting job from home after the delivery. <br>Nobody wants a cold dinner.
If Farhan has a difficult morning delivery routine, Imtiyaz Sheikh (20) has an evening one. Hailing from South Kashmirs Kulgam, he delivers lunch and dinner in Srinagar and its outskirts from Tiffin Aaw, another startup. His work starts at 11 a. m. and ends around 9. 30 p. m. daily.
Usually, dinner is not ordered before 8 p. m. Nobody wants to order early and eat cold food, Sheikh, who does not have the privilege of taking leave, tells 101Reporters. His mother back home gets anxious as he remains on the streets on chilly nights.
One day, when it snowed very hard, I really got upset at the thought of delivering tiffin. I almost gave up, but went on for the sake of my family Ultimately, we had to use the companys four-wheeler as taking my two-wheeler out became a near-impossible task, sighs Sheikh, who is the only earning member of his family after losing his father in a car accident.
Slipping of vehicles and breakdowns on snow-laden roads are common. Ghulam Mustafa (30), who delivers food from a cloud kitchen to Rajbagh, Bemina and nearby areas in Srinagar, once had to take an auto as it would have taken an hour or so to get his two-wheeler repaired following a breakdown.

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