While coronavirus is playing havoc in the city, the inefficiency of district and civic administration in ensuring supply of grocery to houses during the 21-day lockdown have made life of residents miserable.
As per the claim of Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), it has supplied grocery to nearly 50,000 houses in last four days since the facility of taking orders from door-steps was started.
As per the same IMC, there are more than 6 lakh houses in the city which is under complete lockdown due to spike in number of Covid cases.
Of over 6 lakh households, grocery reached to nearly 50,000 houses only even as the rest of houses are also in want of ration badly.
“The number is less because we started on-door delivery of grocery just four days back. The figure will shoot up drastically in next four to five days,” said an IMC officer wishing anonymity.
The lockdown was invoked on March 24 midnight across the nation. In the initial days, the lockdown in the city was moderate and flexible. People were allowed go outside for purchase of grocery and medicines, although most of grocery shops had already ran out of essential items.
From March 29 onwards, collector Manish Singh was forced to impose complete lockdown in the city as the number of coronavirus cases were increasing drastically.
He had even banned sale of milk for three days, a decision on which he had to backtrack within 24 house under immense public pressure.
However, he did not allow grocery shops to open and also banned social organisations from distributing food packets and rations bags stating that the district administration would be doing it.
It took six days for the district and civic administration to set up a system wherein delivery of grocery items could be made to people. From March 4, the IMC started facility of taking orders from door-steps and get it delivery on door-steps.
For last four days, the IMC employees are going to houses and taking orders of 15 prescribed items. They are giving the list to grocers who are delivering the items to houses.
The system is so complex and slow that a person who gives order does not get delivery of ordered items in two to three days also.
Indeed, the system is complex but we are making it smooth with each passing days. “We are taking orders from all but shortlisting people on urgency basis. Delivery is made first to those who require the grocery urgently,” municipal commissioner Asheesh Singh says.
He says that they are issuing permits to more number of shops so that grocery delivery system can be expedite.
“Initially, we have given permits to nearly 260 shops only, the number which increased to 400 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we gave permits to 67 more shops,” Singh says.
Nobody stocked up on grocery
People stated that they had not stocked up on grocery before the lockdown as announced as they did not see it coming. “As the number of cases were nearly 500 in the country when the PM took everybody by surprise by announcing 21 day lockdown from March 24 mid-night. We did not see it coming so we did get stock up on essential items. Plus, the PM had appealed people not to stock up as there won’t be any shortage to essential items. But now it has become extremely difficult to get things required to survive,” said Amit Niley of Nanda Nagar.
As it was March end, salaried people do not have much cash with them to stock up on essential items also. They thought month end will pass easily. They were not wrong but the new month began with hardships. Now, even when they have got salaries in their account they go to shops to purchase grocery. Much to their problems, IMC employees have not reached to their doors to take orders also.
Medicines also not available in stores
Many people are not getting essential drugs also at medial stores as the stock is dwindling fast. While the medical shops near residential areas have ran out of many essential drugs, many big stores in Dawa Bazaar and other places of the city are not having many crucial medicines. Diabetes, heart and blood pressure patients are tossing from one store to another in want of drugs.
