Kerala MVD warns quick-commerce firms over rash driving by riders
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has issued notices to major quick-commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and Bigbasket, to overhaul their delivery policies, following a surge in traffic violations and reckless driving by their riders.
The notices have been served to the companies’ dark stores and platform operators, directing them to streamline and align their internal policies with road safety regulations within the next 15 days, a statement said here on Wednesday.
The department warned that failure to comply would invite further legal action.
The MVD pointed out that the growing practice of promising ultra-fast deliveries—within seven or 20 minutes—is contributing to unsafe driving behaviour on roads.
Speeding, rash riding and failure to wear safety gear such as helmets were identified as some of the most common violations among delivery riders, it said.
Other road users are often forced to avoid these riders due to the fear of accidents.
The department noted that riders are frequently under pressure to complete orders quickly in order to maximise their income and move on to the next assignment.
In many cases, unrealistic deadlines set by online platforms and aggressive marketing strategies that promise customers rapid delivery timelines are leading to compromised road safety.
Emphasising that public safety cannot be sacrificed for commercial competition, the MVD said online delivery platforms must ensure responsible business practices and strict adherence to traffic laws to prevent accidents and protect lives.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
