Bala Chauhan By Express News Service BENGALURU: City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao wants online and app-based food delivery services to extend their 30-minute deadline to a minimum of 45 minutes, keeping in view traffic and the safety of delivery agents. Rao told The New Indian Express that he has asked Joint Commissioner, Crime, Sandeep Patil to call a meeting with all the online and app-based food delivery companies, and ask them to do away with the 30-minute deadline, replacing it with a more realistic time limit. “In a rush to meet the deadline, delivery agents break traffic rules, meet with accidents and often beg traffic cops to waive off penalties for jumping signals, as if they fail to deliver in time, they miss out on their incentives,” said Rao. “It is cruelty on their part to force such deadlines,” he added. Some online delivery services use the gimmick of giving free food if the delivery time crosses the 30-minute limit from the time of order. On January 21, Rao had a twitter war with a popular app-based food delivery service on the issue. On his personal handle (@deepolice12) Rao had tweeted, “Do we have the heart to get a free pizza from a kid who is risking his life just because he crossed over 30 mns. Am seriously considering asking pizza companies to make it 40 mns as these kids risk their lives by breaking all traffic rules.” One of the most popular app-based food aggregator - Swiggy - tweeted back saying, “Hi there, we understand your concern. We do not condone traffic violations of any nature. If you witness the same, please highlight it to us by contacting us at 080-46866699. Have a good day ahead.” Livid at the reply, Rao hit back. “Mr Swiggy Cares, you are the biggest violators and have the temerity to tell me that you adhere to rules, your boys beg cops to let them go as you penalize them, next time a Swiggy kid bleeds on road, be sure, your management will be behind bars,” tweeted the commissioner. Many Bengalureans had liked and shared Rao’s tweet, congratulating him for raising the issue. One of them had tweeted saying he loved the way the commissioner expressed his concern for delivery boys. Another resident, in support of Rao, tweeted that if the customers had a problem with a longer deadline, “they could drive themselves to the store pick up their pizza,” read the tweet.

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