Nod to home delivery of more items ...... The order stated that sale of non-essential items was allowed through home delivery mode

Workers of a grocery store prepare packets for home delivery during a nationwide lockdown (PTI)

TT Correspondent, 29.04.20, Calcutta: The Bengal government has issued a notification — based on a central directive — to allow home delivery of non-essential items like electronic goods across the state.

“A notification has been issued allowing home delivery of non-essential items across the state. I can’t say who have started the service,” said Rajiva Sinha, the chief secretary.

The order stated that sale of non-essential items was allowed through home delivery mode. “All associated activities in the supply chain of these items are also allowed,” reads the order.

Sources at Nabanna said though it was not mentioned in the notification, the service could be restricted in the containment zones in four districts — Calcutta, North 24-Parganas, Howrah and East Midnapore — which fall in the red zone.

“As entry and exit in the containment zones is restricted, home delivery of non-essential items could not be as smooth as it would be in other areas. A plan for these areas could be chalked out later,” said a senior government official.

The order said the delivery personnel must wear masks and norms of social distancing and health and hygiene protocol must be ensured.

The sources said the state order was based on a central notification that allowed stand alone non-essential shops to be made operational in non-hotspot areas. The state government, sources said, has different opinion regarding opening of non-essential shops, particularly when the lockdown was in place.

“If all shops are kept open, people would go out and the lockdown measures would be diluted. We have sought a clarification from the Centre in this regard, but we felt that allowing home delivery of non-essential items would be safe,” said a bureaucrat.

The sources also said allowing the service would help the consumers and the shop owners alike as demand for items like electronic goods or household needs could increase because of the lockdown.

“Primarily, it has been considered that local non-essential shops, which remained closed for more than a month, could supply items to the consumers through home delivery. This would boost the local economy to some extent,” said a source.