Ahmedabad, May 11 () The Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC) on Monday banned the cash-on-delivery optionfor grocery and food items to homes after May 15, saying thedeadly coronavirus also spreads through currency notes, andmade digital payment mandatory.
As per the AMC, the payment for such services in thecity, the worst-hit by coronavirus in Gujarat, will now haveto be made only digitally and all delivery staff will have todownload the Arogya Setu app on their mobile phones, anofficial said.
On May 7, the AMC had ordered closure of all shopsexcept those providing milk and medicines till May 15 as partof measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Even shops selling essential items like vegetablesand grocery items were asked to remain shut for a week.
In a review meeting held on Monday, the AMC decidedthat after May 15, when the stringent restrictions will beeased, home delivery vendors like Big Basket and Swiggy, canaccept payment only through digital modes such as UnifiedPayment Interface (UPI), said IAS officer Rajiv Kumar Gupta.
"Around 30,000 home deliveries are made by differentvendors every day in the city. To stop the spread ofcoronavirus through currency notes, we are putting a ban oncash-on-delivery option after May 15.
"We are making cashless digital payment compulsory forhome deliveries," said Gupta, the officer on special duty tooversee the AMC's COVID-19 response.
Moreover, all delivery staff will have to downloadArogya Setu on their mobile phones, said Gupta, adding use ofthe central government-launched app is necessary for their ownsafety.
The mobile application helps users identify whetherthey are at risk of COVID-19 infection. It also providespeople with important information, including ways to avoidcoronavirus infection, and its symptoms.
To popularise cashless payments among 17,000-oddretail shops of grocery items, vegetables and milk, AMC teamswould visit each outlet and make them understand the digitalpayment process and to get online payment apps installed ontheir mobile phones, said Gupta.
He added that such measures are necessary to preventtransmission of the infection through currency notes as it wasfound that the novel coronavirus can survive on paper for manydays. PJT PDNSKRSY RSY