Zomato’s grocery arm, Blinkit, has been rendered “temporarily unavailable” following the closure of 50 stores located in various areas of Delhi-NCR. This development occurred as a result of protests by delivery partners linked to the unit over alterations made to their payment system.

Blinkit’s updated payment scheme stipulates that its delivery personnel will now earn a minimum compensation of INR 15 per delivery, as opposed to the earlier rate of INR 25 per delivery. At the same time, customers attempting to place orders through the unit’s application have encountered difficulties in recent days, with a “temporarily unavailable” message appearing due to high demand.

Videos circulating on social media exhibit Blinkit’s delivery executives protesting against the revised payment structure.

Kapil Mishra, a leader of the BJP, criticized Blinkit’s management team regarding the matter.

“Some Blinkit employees met me today. The injustice Blinkit is doing to its employees is illegal. The Blinkit management is playing with the lives of lakhs of families. It must implement the old payment structure immediately. Reduction from INR 25 per delivery to INR 10-15 is cheating with the employees,” Mishra tweeted in Hindi.

Zomato’s other food delivery services remained unaffected, while Blinkit faced issues. Zomato had acquired Blinkit (previously called Grofers) in 2022 for $550 million as part of its entry into the “quick commerce” space.