Mumbai, April 14 -- For gig workers like Datta Bansi Gupta, 32, the state government's SOPs have come as a relief. A delivery worker since 2018, Gupta works 12-13 hours a day to make Rs.2,000. But meeting this target under the intense summer afternoon sun is both arduous and hazardous. Gupta admitted he felt giddy at times. "But restaurants often do not let us wait indoors nor do they offer water. If we ask, they tell us to buy bottled water. How can we buy water for Rs.10 or Rs.20 when we make only Rs.20 per delivery," he said. This year has been particularly bad, he said, with heatwaves sweeping across the city for several days in March. "We do not have any mediclaim or insurance, so our health issues have to be resolved by spending from our own pocket," he said. The SOPs for outdoor informal workers mandate regulation of working hours during heatwaves and compulsory break for workers from 12-4 pm, when the heat is most intense. But activists in the field of heat stress adaptation and resilience alleged the guidelines were hollow as telling informal workers who were dependent on daily wages to stay indoors would achieve little. "A heat-safe Mumbai means enforceable protections: shifted work timings during heat alerts, mandatory shade and drinking water at worksites and markets, and access to quick medical care without wage loss," said Apekshita Varshney, founder of the nonprofit HeatWatch. According to a study by the climate think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), the city has seen an alarming rise in very warm nights which make it harder for the body to cool down and recover from daytime heat, leading to serious health implications for outdoor workers....