The parliamentarian, Mahua Moitra, recently tweeted about the risks of 10-minute delivery of food and grocery pledged by companies and has called for regulations to outlaw such practices. The issue raised by Ms Moitra merits scrutiny. Delivery platforms like Zomato, Blinkit and Zepto are major stakeholders in this 10-minute delivery race. Many more firms are trying to join the league owing to the pressure of commercial competition. But this template of client servicing would put the lives of delivery executives — a cog in the wheel of the gig economy — as well as others at risk. Data support this hypothesis. Many delivery personnel have claimed that most accidents take place in their bid to meet these impossible timelines. In Kochi, for instance, authorities claim that nearly five such accidents take place in a week. In a country that accounts for 11 per cent of road fatalities globally, the situation in other Indian cities cannot be any better. The platforms say that there are no monetary repercussions for delivery executives failing to meet these deadlines. But a fall in customer ratings can adversely affect the performance assessment and, eventually, the wages of these workers. The insurance coverage, it is argued, entirely disregards long-term loss of income from accidents. Given the rising unemployment and prices, workers are forced to continue with this kind of employment in spite of the harsh terms.

Commerce’s fascination with speed is, of course, a manifestation of modernity’s enchantment with the instantaneous. Lightning-fast travel, high-speed internet, instant online loans or speed-dating, people want things to happen at breakneck speed. Food delivery is not an exception. What is needed to combat this epidemic of impatience and its consequent business practices is society’s renewal of the pact with leisure and human rights.