Gig workers call nationwide ‘App Bandh’ on Dec 31, delivery services in Bengaluru likely to be hit
Bengaluru: Delivery services across Bengaluru are expected to face disruption on December 31 as gig workers’ unions have called for a nationwide strike, raising concerns for restaurants and customers ahead of New Year’s Eve.
The protest, described as an ‘App Bandh’, has been called by several national unions including the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). Union leaders say the strike could see wider participation than a similar call on December 25, which affected parts of Delhi and Gurugram but had little impact on Bengaluru.
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Clarifying that participation is voluntary, IFAT national president Prashant Sawardekar said, “Many workers want to protest, but there is fear of being penalised or blacklisted by platforms. Despite this, the response has been growing.” The union has around seven lakh members across India, with about 35,000 based in Bengaluru. he said.
At the heart of the protest are long-standing demands for regulation of platform companies under labour laws, an end to arbitrary penalties and ID blocking, transparent wage structures, improved social security, and protection of workers’ right to organise. A key demand is a ban on the 10-minute delivery model, which unions argue pushes workers into unsafe conditions. The Karnataka App-based Workers Union has also written to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking intervention.
Delivery workers noted penalties imposed by aggregator platforms have become a major source of distress, as reported by Deccan Herald. Salauddin, a 49-year-old delivery executive planning to join the strike, said delays beyond their control often lead to fines. “If a restaurant is late or a customer is unresponsive, we still get penalised. There is no accountability on others, only on us,” he said.
Others point to safety concerns, particularly on New Year’s Eve. “The streets are chaotic that night. It’s not worth risking your life for work where neither the company nor customers respect you,” said Sandeep K, a 39-year-old food delivery and porter agent, urging more workers to participate.
Unions have also appealed to home service workers and cab drivers to join the protest, though city-based unions indicated that cab and auto services are unlikely to be affected.
Restaurants and smaller establishments said they may rely on phone orders and in-house staff for deliveries, while larger chains fear significant disruption. With around 35 multiple food brands outlets in the city, Nikhil Gupta, told DH setting up an alternative delivery system at short notice was not feasible. “We are still waiting for payments from aggregator platforms and are hoping services continue. Otherwise, our operations will take a serious hit,” he said.
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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".
