Coronavirus impact: Swiggy to home-deliver liquor in West Bengal

After Jharkhand and Odisha, Swiggy has started home delivery of liquor in West Bengal to prevent overcrowding of people at shops amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Swiggy, on Thursday, started online home delivery in Kolkata and Siliguri after obtaining approval from the West Bengal government. The online food delivery platform is planning to expand its liquor delivery services in 24 other cities across West Bengal.

On starting the online delivery of alcohol, Swiggy spokesperson said, "Building on our successful launches in Jharkhand and Odisha we will now be enabling safe home delivery of alcohol in West Bengal. Starting with Kolkata and Siliguri, we will expand our services to 24 other cities across the state".

In this new venture, Swiggy is partnering with authorised retailers across major cities after validating their license and other required documents as outlined by the state government. Swiggy is also planning to incorporate a QR code scanner within the delivery partner app to check the authenticity of the products before delivering them to the customer.

Retail partners will be equipped with a dedicated partner app that enables all aspects related to the online processing of orders. Retail partners can directly manage product listing and update the availability of items in real-time.

Both the delivery partners and retailers are being virtually trained through their respective apps to facilitate smooth services. Swiggy said it has implemented multiple safety measures to ensure safe home delivery of alcohol orders.

Customers, who wish to buy liquor via Swiggy in West Bengal, will have to complete one-time age verification by uploading their valid ID proofs, and a selfie for authentication. At the time of doorstep delivery, customers will only get the booked order after giving the correct OTP to the delivery boy.

The West Bengal State Beverages Corporation Ltd (WBSBCL)  the only wholesaler of liquor in the state, had already introduced e-retail and home delivery by enlisted off-shops.

The Supreme Court had recently asked states to consider non-direct contact or online sales and home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Swiggy lays off 1,100 employees, future of cloud kitchens uncertain

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Swiggy starts home delivery of liquor in Jharkhand, Zomato to follow suit