Punjab Police tie up with Zomato, Swiggy for supply of essentials

CHANDIGARH:To facilitate the supply of essential goods at doorstep during the 21-day curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19, the Punjab Police on Wednesday joined hands with Zomato, Swiggy, Verka, Amul, mandi pradhans, and chemist associations.

Passes were also being issued to authorised vendors for the supply of essentials, said DGP Dinkar Gupta. For home delivery of medicines, in particular, necessary tie-ups are being made with the respective chemist associations, so that orders can be taken on the phone and home delivery is accordingly undertaken, he said.

The DGP appealed to the people and the media to be patient as arrangements on such a large scale needs time for implementation.

In Amritsar and Ludhiana cities, 650 persons had been engaged from Swiggy for home delivery of the essential goods, while in Patiala district, home delivery of essential commodities was being ensured in coordination with the delivery boys from Zomato and Swiggy.

As many as 100 trolleys containing essential commodities were dispatched across Sangrur district on Wednesday by engaging the services of local volunteers, said the DGP, adding that in Tarn Taran district, milk-producing entities like Verka and Amul have been roped in for ensuring decentralised distribution of milk following proper social distancing measures.

Officers of milk plant Verka have been liaised with and they have assured that their 700 vendors will undertake door-to-door supply of milk in Amritsar City too, with the Commissionerate Amritsar directed to issue the necessary passes, said Gupta.

Further, for the supply of fruits and vegetables in Amritsar City, a liaison has been established with the merchant leader (pradhan) of the sabzi mandi. As a result, around 200 vendors from mandis will undertake door-to-door delivery of vegetables to the residents of each colony and area in Commissionerate Amritsar.

Strict enforcement of curfew had curtailed the number of FIRs for violations to 74 on Wednesday against 230 registered on Tuesday.