India, April 16 -- At 4am, when most of the city is asleep, 26-year-old Ganesh Chaugle rides home through the dimly lit streets of Thane to Kalwa, exhausted. In the last one month, the gig worker has worked nearly 14 hours a day, beginning his shift at noon and continuing until the early hours of the morning. "There is hardly any time to rest," Chaugle told HT while delivering an order near Jambli Naka, Thane. Hard times, triggered by the LPG crisis has impacted the pace of deliveries, cutting into his earnings by half. "Earlier, we used to deliver one order every 10 minutes. Now it takes 20 minutes as many places have switched to electric induction," he said. The impact on his income has been severe. Until recently, Chaugle earned between Rs.40,000 and Rs.45,000 a month, which has plummeted to Rs.30,000 today, of which 15-20% is spent on petrol, maintenance and other work-related expenses. "My income forms the backbone of my house," he said. Chaugle's mother works as a domestic help and earns around Rs.15,000 a month. The two incomes barely help tide over rent, monthly bills and pending EMIs. "It hurts when my mother thinks I am shirking my domestic responsibilities. How do I explain that my pocket has developed a hole because of a war thousands of miles away?" said the final year commerce student at Patel College, Kalyan. To save money, he often skips dinner and survives on inexpensive street food such as samosa, sev and bhel. The harsh realities of gig work have only intensified his distress. "We cannot take a break between 12 noon and 3 pm. When I stopped briefly yesterday to use the loo, my incentive of Rs.332 for completing 27 deliveries was waived off. This means I have to pay for petrol from my own pocket," said Chaugle. Despite the scorching heat, he cannot afford to buy water, as "saving Rs.20 on a bottle may be used for a more pressing necessity."Osama Rawal...