HYDERABAD — On Saturday, August 9, a Zomato delivery partner in Hyderabad named Syed Farhan slipped into an open drain while he was on an active delivery order. Local people saved him. The incident happened around 9:30 PM near TKR Kaman, while it was raining heavily and the ground was flooded.
A video of the rescue, which has since gone viral on social media, shows Farhan holding on to a rope while people from the area try to pull him to safety. The flooding took his motorcycle and cell phone away. Farhan was lucky and got away with very minor injuries.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) has strongly condemned the event, saying that food delivery businesses like Zomato put their riders’ safety ahead of their own earnings. Shaik Salauddin, the founding president of TGPWU, said, “This isn’t just an accident; it’s a direct result of platforms putting profits ahead of worker safety.” God gave Farhan his life yesterday, but it might be too late for another worker tomorrow.
The union wants Zomato to assume full blame for what happened. The TGPWU is asking the corporation to buy Farhan a new phone, fix his broken bike, and pay him for the money he lost. Salauddin stressed that “this isn’t about a ₹10-₹15 rain bonus; it’s about whether a worker comes home alive.”
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was also condemned by TGPWU for not being tougher on aggregator companies. The union says that GHMC has told these companies about the dangers of sending riders out in bad weather, but these warnings are generally ignored. The TGPWU is asking firms to give workers fair rain and surge incentives and real-time weather alerts so they can make smart choices about their safety.