04/05/2025
Another 10-Minute Delivery. Another Life Lost.
Praveen Kumar was just 26.
A son. A brother. A dreamer.
One of thousands of young Indians trying to earn an honest living.
But he died on the job — not because of recklessness, but because of pressure.
He was a delivery executive — part of India’s booming quick commerce industry.
The promise: groceries at your doorstep in 10 minutes.
The reality: riders are racing against time, traffic, and death.
Praveen took a shortcut — the wrong side of the road.
Not because he wanted to.
But because every lost minute means a lost incentive.
₹50 here, ₹100 there — it adds up to survival.
The police closed the case.
"Rider’s fault. Wrong side."
But is that the full truth?
Or just the easiest explanation?
Let’s ask the harder questions:
1. The Companies
Quick commerce giants — what are your KPIs really costing?
Why do your delivery targets value speed over safety?
Why is a human life squeezed into a 10-minute countdown?
Why is there more investment in delivery timers than in insurance, training, or mental health support?
Incentives drive behavior.
And when those incentives punish safe, cautious driving, you're not just delivering groceries — you’re delivering danger.
2. The Customers (Us)
We tap a button and demand urgency.
But at what cost?
Is it really essential to get bread in 10 minutes?
Have we confused convenience with necessity?
Would we still want speed if our own brother or friend was riding that bike?
Every “Where’s my order?” ping adds pressure to someone’s life.
We need to be more human in our consumption.
3. The Business Model
We’ve romanticized disruption.
But in the race to be faster, we’ve forgotten to be fair.
The glorification of “instant” is hollow when it runs on the back of exploited labor.
It’s time we shift from fastest delivery to safest delivery.
From cost optimization to human dignity.
To the Companies:
Rethink your model.
Incentivize safety, not speed.
Make 30-minute delivery the norm, not the exception.
Ensure every rider has insurance, training, and support.
Disclose transparently how many riders are injured or killed. Growth shouldn't come with blood on the roads.
To the Customers:
Be human first.
If it’s not urgent, wait.
Respect the rider. Tip fairly. Speak kindly.
Ask yourself: “Would I want my loved one riding under this pressure?”
Let’s Not Wait Until It’s Personal
Praveen’s story is not a statistic.
It’s a mirror — showing us who we’ve become.
We’re not just users of the system.
We’re part of it. And we can demand better.
For me, I don’t need a 10-minute delivery.
What I need is to save a life in those 10 minutes.
Groceries can be bought again.
A life, once lost, cannot be replaced.
Speak up. Slow down. Choose empathy.
Let’s not wait for another Praveen to remind us what really matters.
