Kasargod Cops Take Grocery Orders on WhatsApp, Deliver Items at Doorstep Amid Covid-19 Lockdown

Burdened with enforcement of COVID-19 lockdown, yet police personnel in Kerala's Kasargod district, hit hard by the virus, have commenced door delivery of essentials to ensure that people remained indoor, with a top official promising it to be faster than that of E-Commerce giant Amazon.

Residents can simply send the list of daily needs such as groceries and medicines to the WhatsApp numbers provided by the district police as part of a new initiative started in a bid to further curtail public movement.

"If you want essential commodities at your doorsteps, you simply send a message to WhatsApp numbers of police," Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare told the locked-down people of the district, having highest number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Announcing the launch of the home delivery service, Sakhare, who heads the police operations in the district, said, "there is no need for the people locked down in the safety of their homes to come out for buying essentials.

Police shall deliver items of daily needs to their door steps."

Drawing comparisons between the services of Amazon and the district police, the official said, "Rest assured, amazing asargod Police Home Delivery Service is faster than 'Amazon!' Stay Home-Stay Safe!."

In his Facebook page, he wrote, "You simply have to send an audio, video or text message to our WhatsApp numbers!."

Initially started for COVID-19 Containment Zones, the initiative has now been extended to the entire district.

According to the state government, the north Kerala district has reported 132 positive cases and many are under observation.

As part of efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, the police have created seven COVID Containment Zones (CCZs) to isolate the worst-affected areas from rest of the district. "It is proving to be a game-changer in the fight against the virus", Sakhare noted.

Sakhare, Police Commissioner of Kochi city, was rushed to Kasargod by the government to supervise operations there, after more COVID-19 cases were confirmed from the district.