Mumbai 'Dabbawala' leader Gangaram Talekar dead

Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association general secretary Gangaram Talekar passed away at a private hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday.

"Gangaram had recently undergone a bypass surgery. He got a heart attack this morning and passed away suddenly," said Raghunath Medge, Head of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association. Talekar was cremated at his native village in Pune district today.

In a statement issued here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolence, saying, "Very sad to know of the passing away of Sri Gangaram Talekar. My condolences to his family and the entire family of dabbawalas of Mumbai." Dabbawalas had gathered at the association's Grant road office here to pay their respect to their leader.

Dabba delivery services were affected as most of the members had gone to attend the condolence meeting. The Prime Minister had recently nominated dabbawalas, among others, for taking forward the 'Clean India' mission, launched on October 2.

While continuing with their task of delivering tiffin boxes to thousands of customers across the financial capital, the suppliers, all commoners, formed a special team to implement the task given to them.