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Online food delivery platform Swiggy on Thursday announced that it has started alcohol home delivery in Ranchi. The company also revealed that it is in talks with multiple state governments to provide similar service.
“The service has gone live in Ranchi and will be launched in other major cities in Jharkhand within a week,” Swiggy said in a statement.
When liquor shops were reopened in Jharkhand on Wednesday for the first time after the lockdown was imposed in the state, tipplers were seen queuing outside these shops, despite an additional 25 per cent Value Added Tax imposed on liquor by the state government.
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But with the online order and delivery facility, eligible people can now order delivery of alcohol by using ‘wine shops’ category in their Swiggy app.
To ensure safe delivery of alcohol in compliance with applicable laws, Swiggy has introduced measures such as mandatory age verification and user authentication to complete deliveries, the statement said.
“By enabling home delivery of alcohol in a safe and responsible manner, we can generate additional business for retail outlets while solving the problem of overcrowding, thereby promoting social distancing,” Swiggy Vice-President (Products) Anuj Rathi said.
Taking advantage of the company’s existing technology and infrastructure to enable hyperlocal deliveries, it has been working closely with the local authorities to support them with initiatives like expansion of grocery delivery and COVID-19 relief efforts, he added.
All orders will carry a unique one-time-password (OTP) which needs to be provided by the customer at the time of delivery.
There is also a capping on the order quantity to ensure a customer does not order alcohol above the prescribed limit as per the state law.
Swiggy is partnering with authorised retailers after validating their licence and other required documents as outlined by respective state governments, the statement said.
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