Cashless home delivery mandatory in Ahmedabad after May 15

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Monday banned the cash-on-delivery option for grocery and food items to homes after May 15, saying the deadly coronavirus also spreads through currency notes, and made digital payment mandatory.

As per the AMC, the payment for such services in the city, the worst-hit by coronavirus in Gujarat, will now have to be made only digitally and all delivery staff will have to download the Arogya Setu app on their mobile phones, an official said.

On May 7, the AMC had ordered closure of all shops except those providing milk and medicines till May 15 as part of measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Even shops selling essential items like vegetables and grocery items were asked to remain shut for a week.

In a review meeting held on Monday, the AMC decided that after May 15, when the stringent restrictions will be eased, home delivery vendors like Big Basket and Swiggy, can accept payment only through digital modes such as Unified Payment Interface (UPI), said IAS officer Rajiv Kumar Gupta.

"Around 30,000 home deliveries are made by different vendors every day in the city. To stop the spread of coronavirus through currency notes, we are putting a ban on cash-on-delivery option after May 15.

"We are making cashless digital payment compulsory for home deliveries," said Gupta, the officer on special duty to oversee the AMC's COVID-19 response.

Moreover, all delivery staff will have to download Arogya Setu on their mobile phones, said Gupta, adding use of the central government-launched app is necessary for their own safety.

The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of COVID-19 infection. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus infection, and its symptoms.

To popularise cashless payments among 17,000-odd retail shops of grocery items, vegetables and milk, AMC teams would visit each outlet and make them understand the digital payment process and to get online payment apps installed on their mobile phones, said Gupta.

He added that such measures are necessary to prevent transmission of the infection through currency notes as it was found that the novel coronavirus can survive on paper for many days.