Zomato, Swiggy, Amazon help Jalandhar administration to deliver ration

Our Correspondent

Jalandhar, April 1

The district administration’s tie-up with online delivery companies — Swiggy, Zomato and Amazon — is not only serving the purpose of residents and grocery store owners, who do not have delivery boys, but is also helping companies in bringing their business back on track.

Earlier, the administration had allowed kiryana stores to deliver grocery at homes, but in the absence of any set mechanism with them, residents were facing problems in contacting the store owners as their numbers were mostly out of reach or busy. Hence Zomato, Swiggy and Amazon were roped in as they already have an experience of home delivery.

Vasu Arora, cluster manager, Zomato, said they were now delivering grocery items in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara. He said 25-30 of their delivery boys were catering to the needs of residents.

He said over 20 store owners from Jalandhar were connected through Zomato and their stock with prices were available on the app. “We have been receiving a good number of orders on a daily basis. We have not restricted the delivery of supplies to a particular distance. The delivery boys are taking orders from every corner of the city,” he said, adding that we also request customers to make payments online to avoid exchange of currency.

Another delivery boy of Swiggy, spotted on the BMC Chowk, said: “Since Covid-19 outbreak, the business was adversely affected as people were avoiding food from outside. Now when the lockdown has been imposed, all restaurants are closed, but after tying up with grocery stores, we have got our livelihood back,” he said.

He said 10 to 15 stores are available on their app, and people are happy with the service, as they wear gloves, masks and follow all directions of the administration.

Meanwhile, Satinder Kaur, a housewife, said: “This is a good step by the district administration, as Zomato, Swiggy boys know how to locate an address. Moreover, ordering on calls was taking too much time, as we first used to confirm the price and then place an order.”