Seventeen days into complete lockdown, residents of Gelephu Thromde are agitated by the late delivery of essential items. With the people not allowed to come out of their homes, they are being facilitated with home delivery of essentials. But people say it takes several days to receive the items after they place their orders. Meanwhile, for the delivery team, meeting the demands of more than 10,000 people is a daily struggle.
Unlike the past lockdowns, DeSuups took over the delivery service task this time. This is mainly to prevent the virus from spreading further. The residents place an order through the toll-free number and the 20 female DeSuups take note of the items along with the resident’s contact details.
They then forward the lists to the delivery teams in identified shops of the respective zones. The delivery team says it passes midnight delivering the goods every day.
“Our delivery teams do the shopping and start delivering from seven in the morning till midnight. Namkhaling and Sonamgatshel have a huge population. We have to deliver 400 to 500 households every day and we have to visit every house,” said Rinchen Zangmo, a DeSuup in Gelephu.
“From our side, we are working hard to provide the service. Even at around 1 or 2 AM, we make deliveries. In some cases, they don’t come to receive their goods. We call a maximum of four times. We put a question mark if they don’t make it to the site after making four calls. But the next day we follow up and deliver,” said Tandin Gyeltshen, another DeSuup.
The volunteers say the shortage of delivery vans and problems in finding the exact location of the clients also delay the service.
DK Group is one of the grocery shops identified to cater goods to residents in Jampeling Demkhong. However, the owner said he did not receive any complaints regarding the late delivery.
“I sent my staff along with the DeSuup teams and they are working hard. We have not received any complaints so far,” said Dasarath Karariya, a shopkeeper.
The essential delivery team was set up a week ago and it has already supplied essential items and vegetables to more than 2,000 households.
Karma Wangdi, Sarpang
