As the festive season swept through Smondoville , a society of 1,140 apartments in Electronics City, online food, grocery, and e-commerce deliveries surged, leading to mayhem – incessant blaring of horns, delivery vehicles speeding through the gates.
“Residents grew frustrated with the noise and the danger posed by the speeding bikes. Security struggled to maintain order,” says Ram Pandey, president of the management committee at Smondoville.
At Purva Palm Beach, Kothanur, home to 1,170 families, the situation was similar. The number of delivery boys entering the apartment was close to 500 every day, says Dileep Mohan, a resident of the complex.
Delivery services , especially the latest “instant delivery” model, provides enormous convenience in our harried lives.
But many are now realising it comes with big costs. Speeding inside apartment complexes , and driving on footpaths and on the wrong side of public roads is just one part of the problem.
Too many outsiders wandering inside the premises of residential complexes is leading to security concerns .
“Stealing new footwear kept outside the door is a growing problem. Spitting inside premises and elevators are other challenges,” says Pradeep Chenthati, MC member at Trifecta Starlight in Garudacharpalya.
He also notes that delivery boys, while delivering to multiple flats, get entry approval for one of the flats and then show up in other flats without any warning. “This is a worry for elders and lone women residents particularly,” he says.
N Ramakrishnan, a senior citizen and resident of One Bangalore West, echoes that: “Some delivery boys spend hours inside the apartment. At entry, they will mention only a few apartments,” he says.
Ravi Sanduri, president of SMD Altezz at Kadugodi, says there have been instances where delivery boys gathered residents’ details from notice boards, subsequently making emergency calls posing as neighbours in need of money.
Saranya P Srinivas, resident of SMR Vinay Galaxy in Hoodi Circle, says delivery vehicles have resulted in a shortage of parking spots.
“Many do not park their bikes within the designated space, blocking driveways and hindering access to residents. They drive recklessly inside apartment complexes, causing damage to other vehicles and shared facilities in the apartment,” she says.
Saranya also notes that due to delivery time constraints, the packages often get misplaced or delivered to wrong houses, and sometimes, not delivered at all, “while customers keep waiting endlessly for their orders to arrive.”
CCTVs, regulations
Across residential complexes – and equally among citizens at large – discussions are on to see how the worst parts of this business can be controlled and regulated. But there are often sharp differences among residents.
At Nikoo Homes-1 in Bhartiya City, when one resident recently suggested disallowing door delivery, and instead have residents collect their parcels at the tower lobby, there was instant pushback from some, arguing they could be busy taking care of a child or an elderly parent, or in an online office meeting.
SMD Altezz has restricted de livery boys’ movement after 10.30pm.
Ravi says after 10.30pm, parcels coming in can be doordelivered only by inhouse manpower. The complex, he says, has also deployed additional security to monitor delivery personnel. All of these have added to costs.
Video surveillance seems to be emerging as the primary solution to problems occurring inside complexes. This too can be expensive. Chenthati of Trifecta Starlight says individual flats are beginning to install their own CC cameras.
Nikoo Homes-1 has been discussing common cameras in corridors, but progress is extremely slow. Meanwhile, the wellstocked grocery inside the 2,400-apartment complex that most can access within 30 seconds to 3 minutes says sales are slowing down.
No wonder, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently expressed worries about what online commerce is doing to small retailers.
“Residents grew frustrated with the noise and the danger posed by the speeding bikes. Security struggled to maintain order,” says Ram Pandey, president of the management committee at Smondoville.
At Purva Palm Beach, Kothanur, home to 1,170 families, the situation was similar. The number of delivery boys entering the apartment was close to 500 every day, says Dileep Mohan, a resident of the complex.
Delivery services , especially the latest “instant delivery” model, provides enormous convenience in our harried lives.
But many are now realising it comes with big costs. Speeding inside apartment complexes , and driving on footpaths and on the wrong side of public roads is just one part of the problem.
Too many outsiders wandering inside the premises of residential complexes is leading to security concerns .
“Stealing new footwear kept outside the door is a growing problem. Spitting inside premises and elevators are other challenges,” says Pradeep Chenthati, MC member at Trifecta Starlight in Garudacharpalya.
He also notes that delivery boys, while delivering to multiple flats, get entry approval for one of the flats and then show up in other flats without any warning. “This is a worry for elders and lone women residents particularly,” he says.
N Ramakrishnan, a senior citizen and resident of One Bangalore West, echoes that: “Some delivery boys spend hours inside the apartment. At entry, they will mention only a few apartments,” he says.
Ravi Sanduri, president of SMD Altezz at Kadugodi, says there have been instances where delivery boys gathered residents’ details from notice boards, subsequently making emergency calls posing as neighbours in need of money.
Saranya P Srinivas, resident of SMR Vinay Galaxy in Hoodi Circle, says delivery vehicles have resulted in a shortage of parking spots.
“Many do not park their bikes within the designated space, blocking driveways and hindering access to residents. They drive recklessly inside apartment complexes, causing damage to other vehicles and shared facilities in the apartment,” she says.
Saranya also notes that due to delivery time constraints, the packages often get misplaced or delivered to wrong houses, and sometimes, not delivered at all, “while customers keep waiting endlessly for their orders to arrive.”
CCTVs, regulations
Across residential complexes – and equally among citizens at large – discussions are on to see how the worst parts of this business can be controlled and regulated. But there are often sharp differences among residents.
At Nikoo Homes-1 in Bhartiya City, when one resident recently suggested disallowing door delivery, and instead have residents collect their parcels at the tower lobby, there was instant pushback from some, arguing they could be busy taking care of a child or an elderly parent, or in an online office meeting.
SMD Altezz has restricted de livery boys’ movement after 10.30pm.
Ravi says after 10.30pm, parcels coming in can be doordelivered only by inhouse manpower. The complex, he says, has also deployed additional security to monitor delivery personnel. All of these have added to costs.
Video surveillance seems to be emerging as the primary solution to problems occurring inside complexes. This too can be expensive. Chenthati of Trifecta Starlight says individual flats are beginning to install their own CC cameras.
Nikoo Homes-1 has been discussing common cameras in corridors, but progress is extremely slow. Meanwhile, the wellstocked grocery inside the 2,400-apartment complex that most can access within 30 seconds to 3 minutes says sales are slowing down.
No wonder, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently expressed worries about what online commerce is doing to small retailers.
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