On June 14, around 10.30 pm, Robin Mukesh, a resident of Hyderabad’s King Koti, placed an order on Zomato. Mohd Aqeel Ahmed, Zomato’s delivery executive, was allotted to deliver the order. In around 20 minutes, the food was delivered to Mukesh. When Mukesh went to collect the order, he was surprised to see that the delivery executive had come to deliver the order on a bicycle. He realized Aqeel had actually covered a distance of around 9 km in 20 minutes.
Inspired by Aqeel’s story, Mukesh clicked a photo of him and put out an appreciation post on Facebook. Responding to the post, a lot of people not only appreciated it but also suggested that something could be done to help Aqeel. Mukesh, who is an active member of a Facebook foodies’ group, The Great Hyderabad Food and Travel Club, was soon supported by fellow members.
The appreciation post on facebook put up by Robin Mukesh
Seeing the positive response to the appreciation post, Mukesh decided to start a fundraiser hoping to raise funds to buy Aqeel a bike. With support from other members, the fundraiser was started on June 15. Within 10 hours of starting the campaign, Mukesh was astounded to realize that they had successfully managed to raise Rs 60,000. By the time Mukesh decided to stop the campaign, he had already managed to raise Rs 73,370 — an amount more than the initial target.
Speaking to TNM, Mukesh said, “With the money raised, we’ve booked a TVS XL bike for Aqeel. The bike cost us around Rs 65,000. The bike will be delivered to Aqeel in a day or two. We’re also going to buy him other requirements like a helmet and a raincoat. We’ve decided to give the extra amount from the fundraiser to him for his college fees.”
Aqeel has been working with Zomato for over a year now. Speaking about how he manages to complete his deliveries at lightning speed on his bicycle, he said, “I’m used to it now. I do not have a vehicle and because of my financial conditions I have to keep working regardless of my problems.”
When asked about how he felt about Mukesh’s initiative, Aqeel said he was heartened to see the response the campaign had received. “I’m grateful for the initiative taken up. It is a really generous gesture. I have been working for a year now and I have been delivering food on my bicycle throughout. Earlier as well, someone else had offered to help me, but however, it did not fall in place.”
An emotional Aqeel who also sounded very excited while speaking to TNM, said, “Inshallah, hopefully I will get the bike soon.”