Urban local bodies in the State are seeking to don new roles that include providing vegetables and facilitating supply of groceries to people reeling under the impact of COVID-19.
The Chennai Corporation is even planning to offer a mobile service of Amma Unavagam, low-cost canteens. “We have procured three vehicles and will be rolling out soon,” said G. Prakash, Corporation Commissioner. Conscious of the fact that biosafety protocols have to be observed, he expressed hope that once the service was launched, it would be “a big hit.”
Urban local bodies have also started operating mobile vegetable shops, thanks to their arrangement with local traders. One vehicle has been arranged for every ward. The service has been on for the last four to five days.
A pack of vegetables, cost of which ranges from ₹100 to ₹150 depending upon the purchasing power of people in the localities, is being offered, said a senior official of the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration (CMA), adding that in places such as Tambaram and Pallavaram, where there are 100 or 200 flats on one campus, there are takers for this kit.
Besides, these local bodies have started linking up people with grocery shops by furnishing phone numbers of the shops to the former. The arrangement is that customers can place orders with the shops over the phone and the provisions are delivered at the doorstep of the people, the official pointed out.
Recently, the State government sanctioned around ₹31.4 crore for the urban local bodies to ensure smooth functioning of Amma Unavagams as part of its COVID-19 relief measures. The Chennai Corporation has been given ₹19.5 crore and other municipal corporations and municipalities ₹11.9 crore. Totally, there are 654 Amma Unavagams in the State, of which Chennai has 407. In the city alone, around 4.5 lakh persons take food every day.
As in the case of Chennai, other municipal corporations and municipalities have been instructed by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to provide three meals a day at Amma Unavagams. Till now, two meals a day are being served.
For the benefit of people in Chennai, the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crop, which is running mobile vegetable shops in different parts of the State in a modest way, also announced on Tuesday, the creation of an online portal — www.ethottam.com — for buying fruits and vegetables. Once orders are placed, the commodities will be delivered to the address of customers either through the department or Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency (TAHODA).
The day after the announcement came, there were reports of the stock having run out. When pointed out, an official of the Horticulture Department replied that this has been reported in respect of vegetables being bought on a piecemeal basis. Customers can buy packs of vegetables and fruits, each costing ₹300 and ₹500 respectively. This will facilitate quicker delivery.