30,000 online orders for home delivery of essentials in 1 day

Ahmedabad, May 16 () About 30,000 orders wereplaced online for doorstep delivery of essential items, whichhas been made mandatory in Ahmedabad, on a single day onFriday, a Gujarat government official said on Saturday andadded that it was the largest such distribution so far in thecountry.

These orders have generated cashless transactionsworth Rs 8.5 crore, he said.

In a bid to check the spread of coronavirus inAhmedabnad, which has so far reported over 7,000 cases and 473deaths, the cash-on-delivery option was banned and digitalpayment mode became compulsory for online delivery of groceryand food items from May 15.

"Around 30,000 online orders were placed for essentialsupplies in Ahmedabad in a single day on Friday, and Rs 8.5crore was paid for the same through cashless mode," saidAshwani Kumar, secretary to chief minister Vijay Rupani.

It is for the first time that online delivery at sucha largescale happened in India on cashless payment, he said.

In a video message, Kumar also said that 657 peoplewho reached Gujarat from the Philippines, USA, Kuwait, and UKon special flights will have tochoose from among districtsexcept Ahmedabad, Surat, and their home districts, for gettingadmitted in institutional quarantine facilities.

"The state government has once again decided toprovide free food basket to 68.8 lakhfamilies holding foodsecurity and BPL cards between May 17 and 27," he said.

Kumar also said the government will provide thesubsidy worth Rs 25 per cattle to the registered cow sheds and'panjrapoles' (cattle shelters) in May, which works out innumbers at 4 lakh cattle and an outlay of Rs 30-35 crore. KA PDNSK NSK