Here’s why your online package is delayed

“As rain has not receded since the last two weeks, our compound is filled with four-feet deep water. To avert accidents, electric supply has also been cut off,” said Yadupati Gupta, founder and CEO of BlackCarrot, a premium dinnerware brand, whose warehouse is located close to the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, which passes through Bhiwandi.

MUMBAI: If your e-commerce deliveries have been delayed beyond the mandated one to five days, you can blame it on the weather. The recent spell of torrential rain has severely impacted Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s (MMR) warehousing hub, Bhiwandi. It has led to slow or backlogged shipments, prompting affected consumers to express their vexation on social media.

Here’s why your online package is delayed

Sample this: Delivery dates for all products on Amazon have slipped to a week from now in Mumbai. Earliest I could find something was July 13th. #MumbaiRains

- Om Chachad @TheOriginaliTE

Why is Amazon Prime delivery suddenly showing ultra-slow delivery across India? 10-11 days??

- Joe @josephradhik

“As rain has not receded since the last two weeks, our compound is filled with four-feet deep water. To avert accidents, electric supply has also been cut off,” said Yadupati Gupta, founder and CEO of BlackCarrot, a premium dinnerware brand, whose warehouse is located close to the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, which passes through Bhiwandi.

With nearly 40,000 warehouses spread across this logistics belt, the situation on the ground varies across areas spanning Thane and Padgha as well as Vasai and Kalyan. The Bhiwandi Surrounding Notified Area, the epicentre of the warehousing hub, falls under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which serves as the Special Planning Authority (SPA), and covers 60 villages across 144 sq km. In May, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded MMRDA’s jurisdiction to Kharbav by designating the area as the Kharbav Integrated Business Park with the aim of developing it into an economic corridor, bringing another 102 sq km and 44 additional villages under MMRDA’s ambit.

Dilip Jain, who owns half a dozen warehouse complexes around Bhiwandi, threw light on how this belt has become vulnerable over the years. “I developed the Prathamesh Complex in Saravali, rural Bhiwandi, 22 years ago. We never faced water logging or flooding. This has happened in the last one year with development or land filling on the three sides around the compound,” said Jain. “Earlier, those lands acted as the holding ponds. Since the height of those plots was raised, water now flows into my compound and others.”

Apathy towards developing suitable infra around these areas has also contributed to flooding, others argue. Y B Hussain, who trades in house and decorative plants, said: “Earlier, warehouses and buildings next to the roads were above the road level. Now, the road’s height has risen and one has to walk down into a commercial establishment or residential building.” Hussain has leased a warehouse in the Rahanal, near Anjur Phata, on the outskirts of Bhiwandi city.

Similar conditions prevail along both the Thane-Bhiwandi Road and the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.

It takes up to a week for rain water to recede thanks to the absence of adequate storm water drains in some areas, along with damaged or clogged drainage systems. During this period, logistics operations come to a halt, disrupting the movement of goods and creating a cascading effect on e-commerce deliveries, leaving companies to deal with frustrated customers.

Gupta is among the fortunate few as floodwater has not entered his warehouse, as he raised the height of the floor inside the warehouse. In several others, water ingress has damaged goods worth lakhs of rupees. Behind the BlackCarrot warehouse, another one holding a stock of electronic appliances have been damaged.

The situation is different at Amazon’s warehouse in Prathamesh Complex, as the company has invested to protect the facility from weather related disruptions. However, courier related challenges continue to affect operations. Amazon did not respond to HT’s queries regarding delays in shipments.

“I learnt my lessons the hard way,” recalled Hussain. “I had leased a warehouse at Anjur Phata as it was economical and helped me manage costs. During last year’s monsoon, the shed’s roof flew away, heavily damaging my stock. Thereafter, I decided to spend more and shift to my current location.”

Illicit logistics hubs

Another factor exacerbating the problem is the rash of unauthorised warehouses in the region, as MMRDA’s plans to upgrade local infrastructure and civic amenities have largely remained on paper despite the authority being appointed the SPA in 2007.

Sainath Tare, president of Bhiwandi Warehouse Builders and Developers Association, identified over a dozen areas under MMRDA that continue to face similar challenges. These include Nandkar, Devarung, Babgaon, Kon, Vehele, Saravali, Pimpalner, Bharodi, Surai, Anjur, Dive, Kasheli and Dunge – all on the outskirts of Bhiwandi.

“Many of these areas become water-logged during monsoon as the water levels in the creek rise during high tide that coincides with heavy rains,” Tare said. “In some low-lying areas, the drainage lines get choked making the water discharge difficult.”

Jain echoed Tare’s observations, adding that regular maintenance is required to unclog storm water drains. However, businesses operating from warehousing complexes are reluctant to pay higher maintenance charges, affecting the upkeep of the drainage infrastructure, he said.

“Even Kharbav faces the same issue of flooding during monsoon and the government wants to transform this area into another Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC),” Tare said, adding, “Once Kharbav gets developed, the repercussion could be similar to that of BKC, which once acted as a water holding area during heavy rainfall days and saved neighbouring localities from getting inundated.”

HT’s queries to MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee on the various handicaps in the region, remained unanswered.