Lockdown: Help At Hand For Your Elderly Parents In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A city-based organisation has launched a doorstep delivery service for medicines and groceries for elderly people here during the lockdown period.

Under the service, children, relatives or friends of elderly people in Bhubaneswar can register and make necessary orders on a special website (https://www.covid19help.live/). The service has been started by Ajatus Software.

Those willing to avail of the service to help their elderly parents or relatives have to register on the site by giving information such as name, WhatsApp number, services needed (groceries or medicine) and address where the products have to be delivered, founder director of the company, Janmejay Mohapatra, informed.

One can also register as a grocery store or a volunteer on the site, he added.

“Any elderly citizen or his/her children and relatives can register and make necessary orders. After getting the information our volunteers will reach the place with the required items and then take cash on delivery,” Mohapatra said.

“If customers order small items, then our volunteers would carry the items to the residence from the store and take the cash. If the order is big, we inform stores about the large order than they go and deliver the items,” he added.

According to Mohapatra, the initiative aims to reduce people’s movements and ensure that they are not troubled during the lockdown. “The elderly people are the most susceptible to the virus. We need them to stay safe and secure,” he said.

The site has received around 50 orders since March 22, he informed.

“At present, the service is for the elderly people. We want more volunteers for providing faster service. We will soon start a service for providing food to homeless and labourers in the city as well,” he added.