In a bid to ensure uninterrupted supply of groceries, food items , medicines and other daily use items to the  the residents of  Odisha at their doorsteps amid the nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of coronavirus pandemic, the State Government has exempted many e-commerce companies from lockdown restrictions.

The step was taken to ensure that the citizens do not venture out of their and maintain social distancing during the lockdown.

A Health and Family Welfare Department notification said home delivery by operator and online delivery services such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Myntra, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Uber Eats, Blue Dart, DTDC, Big Basket, Grofers and UrbanClap  have been exempted from the lockdown restrictions.

Besides, retailers of food and grocery items such as Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, Omfed, Opolfed, Chilika Fresh and Spencers  have also been granted permission to provide home delivery services during the lockdown period.

Earlier on Thursday, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) created a pool of around 28 stores and outlets to home-deliver food items to avoid crowding at markets and shops in the capital city.

The BMC roped in several leading retail stores for the campaign to ensure delivery of essential commodities at the doorsteps of the consumers between 7 am and 11 pm from Friday onwards.

BMC also provided a list of the WhatsApp numbers of the contact persons of different organisations for placing orders. The list of outlets, departmental stores includes Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, Vishal Mega Mart, Aadhar Fresh and many other sought-after stores in the capital city.

Besides, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation had also ordered retail chains in Cuttack city to facilitate doorstep delivery of essential commodities. As per reports, the CMC has directed 11 malls in the city for door-to-door delivery of food items and other daily commodities to the residents.