By Heather Cecilia Phanwar & Nabamita Mitra
With our movement restricted owing to the lockdown and markets remaining crowded on chosen days, home delivery has become a convenient option for many households. From food, groceries, meat to even kwai, one can get everything delivered on their doorstep in this season of lockdown, which is likely to be extended in view of the increase in cases of corona virus infection.
Besides the regular home delivery agents like Swiggy and Netfoodish in the city, many grocery shops and departmental stores have started delivery service. Most of these are using the social media platform to inform people about the new arrangement and who to contact.
Ed Veannezer Tariang of A&G Home Delivery, which sells kwai and tympew, started the special service on request from friends and family.
The lockdown has disturbed the supply chain of betelnut and betel in the city leaving kwai users in a spot. “Even betel leaves are difficult to find. I have been looking to buy leaves but the ones sold are expensive. For 40 leaves of Khasi tympew, the shop keeper at Laitumkhrah market asked for Rs 300. I found this after searching in several shops and markets near my house,” said a resident of Laban.
But A&G has solved the problem for many buyers who, instead of wasting time hunting for kwai and tympew, now order on phone.
“This apart, what actually made us start the online delivery was because most of the farm owners from our villages could not market their products because of the lockdown. Since it was their main source of income, they did not have the money to purchase essential commodities when the market opened,” said Tariang, who sources kwai and tympew from the farms.
The price of kwai ranges from Rs 1,000-1,800 per 400 pieces and that of tympew is Rs 600-1,400 per 240 leaves, both depending on sizes. One can order a minimum of 100 pieces of betelnuts.
Convenience shop
Departmental stores like Raps and Vishal have also started home delivery. While Raps has online order system, Vishal has assigned individuals for different localities who take orders on phone and deliver within 24 hours.
“Raps Departmental Store had to evolve in a very short span of time in response to the COVID-19 lockdown… We have three delivery persons at present. On an average, we receive 60 orders daily through our online web store. With the implementation of the web store, we are not taking orders on call now. This makes it more efficient for us and also allows the customer to browse through our wide range of products in their own time,” said M Riyaki Jana, team leader at Raps Departmental Store.
According to Jana, an order is delivered within a day but “it takes us a little longer just after the weekend due to the accumulation of orders on Sunday”.
Home delivery comes with an extra payment but one can also opt for store pick-up on permitted days.
“We currently outsource our delivery to youth from the community who were willing to help. The entire delivery charge is directly paid to the delivery personnel… the nominal charges take into account their efforts, time and expenses they incur,” she added.
Many customers, especially the youth, find it convenient to place order online instead of making a call and listening to the call-waiting tune for hours. Wansaka Sawkmie, a buyer, pointed out “the downside for Vishal” in this regard.
“They do not have a website for us to choose the items that we want. We have to call them and ask what they have. I ordered milk from Nari and it is done on a subscription basis as well. And we get milk everyday without placing any more order,” said Sawkmie but added that in both cases, orders were placed in the morning and delivered by afternoon.
For vegetables and meat too, one need not step out as there are dedicated services in the city and on the outskirts and all one has to do is pick up the parcel maintaining social distancing norm.
For instance, Shillong Choice, an online service based in Nongrah, delivers vegetables to a few localities. It takes orders from 6-10 am and 8pm to 6am and delivery is free. Colks is another veggie service and both have presence on social media.
Jyrwa Enterprise, a family venture, delivers potatoes, onions, fruits, rice and eggs, among others, and does not charge extra money. The service, which is run by 25 members from 4th Mile, collaborates with the Agriculture Department to buy commodities from farmers. It delivers the goods to chosen localities.
Iohkynti Chicken Shop in Rynjah started home delivery after it became a “challenge for us to sell chicken during lockdown”, said its owner B Nongsteng. “Now that the government has allowed shops to open for some days in the locality we have stopped home delivery. We are also following the government’s health advisory,” he added.
Open Up Eats, an arm of Open Up Café, is also contemplating delivering meat and sausages. Ralph Wanniang of the enterprise said the wing was launched last year but delivery has not started as “we are waiting for a good number of orders”. The ‘lockdown menu’, prices and contact number have already been floated on social media for response.
The state government too has started a home delivery service under the banner MeghaMart Store, which has service men in Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills.
Landyrich Momin, who is the person concerned for MeghaMart service in Williamnagar, works with 8-9 volunteers to deliver “whatever the demand is”. The essential food items are sourced from local grocery shops and orders reach the customers’ doorstep “in two to three hours”.
“We get 12-15 calls a day and so far, we have not missed any order. The working hours are usually from 10 am to 5 pm but it varies (according to work load),” said Momin, who uses his four-wheeler for delivery.
The popular mode of transport for delivery men are two-wheelers.
Precautions priority
Home delivery ensures that citizens stay home and it also lessens crowd in local markets. With less people coming out for shopping, it becomes easier for the administration and police to implement the lockdown and curfew.
To make it a popular choice in this time of crisis, every home delivery service is taking precautions as notified by the authorities concerned. Delivery personnel are equipped with masks, gloves and sanitisers. In some instances, customers can opt for no-contact delivery.
Swiggy, a popular food delivery service that has presence in multiple cities in the country, has put the ‘no-contact delivery’ option on its mobile app. The parcel will be delivered at the door and the buyer will be informed on phone. The app has also stopped accepting cash on delivery. “Leave a bag or stool outside your door where your order can be dropped off,” the ‘hygiene tip’ on the app reads.
According to information put up on the Swiggy app, the service’s delivery partners are trained in “respiratory hygiene practices”, proper hand-washing method and identification of infection symptoms. The company also provides “free medical consultation” and “required financial assistance” to delivery personnel.
Sajal Suklabaidya, who is working with Swiggy for the last two months, was masked when he came to deliver in a locality. He was carrying gloves and sanitisers, which he uses before picking up food.
“We use special multi-layered bags. Our kitchen partners maintain hygiene and we never touch the food at the restaurant. The parcel is directly put into the bag and it is taken out during delivery. Our delivery men use sanitisers and gloves before handing over the food to the customer,” said Pynman Nongtdu, the owner of Netfoodish.
Maintaining social distance is strictly followed. Tariang of A&G service said the delivery men make sure they are not in close contact with the individuals receiving the products. “Masks are being used but gloves are not used. We use hand sanitisers before and after every delivery,” said the 25-year-old proprietor.
Raps Store has made it a “strict daily morning routine” for all staff to revise the protocol of social distancing and basic hygiene required for a safe working environment during the COVID-19 health crisis. The management provides the delivery boys and the team working inside the shop with gloves, masks and sanitisers, informed Jana.
Rezi Arengh, who monitors milk and ghee delivery for Nari in Tura, said for point delivery, “we make sure that buyers stand in queue maintaining 1-m distance and all of us use masks and gloves”.
Taking a risk
Delivery on the doorstep may be a convenient option for buyers but for the men on the move, it is a “high-risk” job. Nongtdu of Netfoodish said parents of the delivery boys are often scared and stop their wards from continuing the work. “We do not force anyone as this is natural. But we are strictly following all guidelines.”
The delivery personnel meet strangers and “sometimes we might not even understand who is infected”, a service person sounded apprehensive. His fears are justified considering the fact that there were rumours of many citizens concealing their travel history fearing quarantine.
“The risk is high but the pay is too less,” rued Goukhansuan Guite, a delivery person for Swiggy. “I used to work part-time but with no other work now, I am doing full-time, which is nine hours. We have to pay for fuel and our food. The payment is not enough for someone with a family. But in this time of crisis, people need help as much as we need a job,” he added.
This is besides the fear of police and trouble in getting curfew passes. “We are often stopped by police for not having curfew pass,” said Suklabaidya of Swiggy.
Home delivery is on the list of essential services.
For Rahul Thapa of Vishal store, lockdown and curfew mean increased hours at work. He has to take orders on phone and deliver them to respective households.
The working hours in many cases are staggered now leading to losses and all the local entrepreneurs whom Sunday Shillong spoke to expressed apprehensions about the long-term effects of the virus and the lockdown. Arengh of Nari-Tura said sales on regular days would be 1,200 litres which have dropped to 500-600 litres.
Also, “the supply and demand ratio is not proportionate currently as sourcing goods from our distributors is challenging during this particular period of time”, shared Jana of Raps Store.
But “for us sales figures do not matter in this hour of crisis as the main thing is to deliver food to people who cannot come out of their houses”, said Nongtdu when asked about Netfoodish’s sales graph.
Yet no light
The local entrepreneurs and small-time traders are innovating and improvising services in this emergency-like situation and these are proving helpful and profitable. However, the businessmen see no light ahead and are uncertain about how long they have to continue the home service.
There is also a possibility that the nationwide lockdown will be extended after April 14. Till the crisis is over, these delivery personnel will continue to be our men in anti-virus protective armour.