'No delivery is worth a human life': Swiggy agent's fall from train sparks outrage

A routine delivery which turned into near-fatal incident for a Swiggy delivery agent has prompted concerns regarding the safety of gig workers.

The incident occurred at Anantapur railway station in Andhra Pradesh when the delivery worker boarded a train to deliver a parcel to a passenger. While he was getting down from the moving train, he injured himself gravely.

A video of the incident which is now making rounds on social media was recorded by a bystander and shared on his Instagram.

He wrote, "The halt was only 1–2 minutes. The passenger was in 1st AC which has multiple doors and by the time the food was handed over, the train had already started."

"The delivery partner had to get down because he had other orders to deliver and his bike and food bag were outside the station."

"He went on to say, "This is not an accident — it’s a failure of safety and responsibility. I want to be very clear: I don’t want anything from Swiggy for myself. I want Swiggy to help that delivery partner. Train Number - 18464 ( Prashanti Express ) Location - Anantapur."

"No delivery is worth a human life. Do better," the post read.

The comment section was flooded with people flagging the dangers gig workers face on a day-to-day basis due to the pressure to meet tight deadlines.

One user wrote, "Boycott 10min delivery train delivery etc on every platform... which risks people's life"

Another wrote, "This is a very serious safety issue. Customers should be clearly informed to collect their food from the train door/platform. Delivery partners should not be forced to deliver food to individual seats inside moving or crowded trains."

Later, the food delivery platform issued a statement, "Hi there, we’ve looked into the incident and are relieved to confirm that the delivery partner is safe, unharmed, and did not face any penalty from authorities. Safety is our absolute priority.

"Our protocols strictly prohibit boarding or exiting moving trains. To help prevent such incidents, we’ve further strengthened our safety training to ensure all partners clearly understand, remain protected, follow protocols and stay out of harm’s way."