“You’ll live even if you don’t eat pizza for the next 10-15 days. Stay home, eat healthy home cooked food,” Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said in a press meet on Sunday as he banned Swiggy and Zomato in the state from Monday.

Though KCR's announcement was for intended keeping in mind safety of the general public, for delivery executives working across Telangana and especially in Hyderabad, this was the announcement they were dreading of. It came as a major blow to scores of delivery executives who depend on Swiggy and Zomato for their livelihood.

KCR said that while grocery delivery apps like Bigbasket would be permitted, food delivery would be banned, and strict action would be taken if found violating norms.

“In Delhi, a man delivering pizza was infected. At least till May 7, cook at home and eat and be safe. Nothing is more valuable than life,” KCR said during the press meet.

Delivery executives of Zomato and Swiggy were already dealing with dwindling incomes as the number of people ordering food amid the pandemic fell drastically. Delivery executives TNM spoke to said that their income had fallen by over 50% during lockdown. But with the state government banning Swiggy and Zomato, their income has become zero since Monday.

“Since Monday, orders have completely stopped. Earlier, if income from delivery was less, we had the option of finding other means of earning. But now there is nothing else and we don’t have help from anywhere,” says Azeem, a Swiggy delivery executive.

Vishal, a delivery executive for Zomato is also in the same position. Vishal says before the lockdown, he would make about Rs 1,100 on a good day barring costs and would also earn weekly incentives. “There were very few orders in the past weeks, but I was still able to make around Rs 400 a day. But now we have no money in hand. It’s getting difficult to afford grocery and food as well,” he adds.

With the lockdown in the state extended till May 7, these delivery executives have no option but to wait for the lockdown to be lifted and services to resume.

These delivery executives have also not received any help from Swiggy, Zomato or even the state government.

Irfan, who delivers for Zomato says that he has not heard of any support from Zomato. “We asked our team leader. He said he will check and tell us, but he’s also not responding now,” Irfan says.

A Swiggy delivery executive who delivers in the Balanagar area in Hyderabad says that he has tried calling Swiggy’s office several times, but no one has heard him out. “If we call head office, first they'll pick up. But once they know the reason for which we are calling, they stop answering our calls and talk to us as if we are dispensable. If we insist or raise a voice, we risk losing our job,” he says.

Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport workers (IFAT), says that around the world, gig workers are generally viewed as contractors by companies and don’t always get access to normal employee benefits and protections, such as sick pay and guaranteed salary.

“The gig workers have been long demanding enhanced benefits. While a pandemic may not be the ideal time to introduce major changes, the crisis may prod the Centre and state government and firms to start examining the issue,” he adds.

TNM reached out to Swiggy to understand how it is helping delivery executives in Hyderabad but has not received any response yet.

Zomato, on the other hand, launched the Zomato Rider Relief Fund, to support all delivery partners whose earnings have dropped sharply in the midst of reduced demand for food delivery. However, none of the delivery executives TNM spoke to in Hyderabad were aware of the existence of such a fund or how to avail its benefit.

The state government too has not announced any support for delivery executives. R Chandra Shekaram, Joint Collector of Labour for the Ranga Reddy Zone told TNM that no support has been offered for delivery executives, but that they are examining how they can be helped.

Salauddin says that many delivery executives have been reaching out to him asking for assistance in finding other means of income, possibly for grocery delivery, but there is only limited availability for that as well.

Both Swiggy and Zomato ventured into grocery delivery over the past few weeks, taking advantage of the opportunity the lockdown presented. Swiggy announced that it is expanding grocery delivery to 125 cities, while Zomato started grocery delivery in over 80 cities across India.

However, none of these services are currently available in Hyderabad. The Swiggy app reads, “As an essential service, we are working hard with local authorities to resume services.” Zomato displays a message that it isn’t accepting orders online and that it will be back soon.