Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the country has found it difficult to maintain social distancing in queues outside liquor shops. Some respite to that is on the horizon, even as Swiggy and Zomato have piloted a doorstep delivery system for alcohol, albeit in just one city – Ranchi. However, the Supreme Court has already suggested that alcohol deliveries can be carried forward with this model, so expect the two two delivery companies to open shop in more cities soon.
The new options for deliveries have started popping up in the Swiggy and Zomato apps for people residing in Ranchi. In Swiggy, the section is called ‘Wine Shops,’ and entering it entails a warning prodding you that you must be 21 years of age or above. In fact, according to Gadgets 360, an age verification system has also added by the two apps.
It is done by asking you to upload any valid government ID to the app. That’s not all; users are apparently also being asked to upload selfies in order to verify them against the government IDs. That’s something that’s going to keep the folks over at Swiggy and Zomato pretty busy. At the time of delivery, the customer is asked to give an OTP as one final measure to ensure that the alcohol doesn’t fall into the hands of underage folks.
“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 said in a statement. While all this is limited to Ranchi for now, there’s still no word on when it will get expanded to other locations over India.
The country has entered its fourth COVID-19 lockdown, which has relaxed the restrictions a bit, but things still look bleak, judging by the rising number of cases from over the country.
