Kolkata: The hawkers in Bengal are going virtual through home delivery of organic products in the form of vegetables, spices, rice and atta. The Hawker Sangram Committee is all set to launch an app through which customers can place orders for home delivery of these articles. The app hawkerbazaar.com is expected to be launched by state Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim on August 26. "The COVID-19 pandemic situation has dealt a telling blow to the hawkers who are struggling to make their both ends meet. People are hesitant to visit the hawkers physically, apprehending the spread of the virus. The home delivery app will be a boon for them," said Saktiman Ghosh, Secretary of Hawker Sangram Committee. To start with, hawkers will home deliver packaged organic products that include two rice varieties (Basmati and Dudheshwar), five variety of vegetables, atta (1 kg), six to seven type of spices. The organic package priced at Rs 550 will be at least half the price of same organic products sold in malls and so called big markets. It will be slightly higher than the cost of normal similar articles (due to its organic nature) but will be affordable for the middle class, claimed Ghosh. He maintained that food and garments will gradually be integrated in the app platform. The delivery will be in bicycles. Qlikchain, a blockchain platform with its India office located at Sector V, Salt Lake is developing the technology. For the package that will be launched on August 26, the vegetables will be procured directly from farmers cooperatives in several parts of districts that include Chanditala in Hooghly, Digambarpur in Patharpratima (South 24-Parganas), Berachapa in Basirhat (North 24-Parganas), Kalaberia in East Midanpore, Shantipur in Nadia, Habra in North 24-Parganas, Gaighata in North 24-Parganas and a handful of tribal villages in Purulia. Spices will come from Manipur while rice and atta from Uttar Pradesh. "The network in Bengal is being expanded so that we can cut down on import from other states," said a member of the Committee. The operation will be run by West Bengal State Hawker Co Operative Society in which 850 hawkers have already registered. 2000 is expected to be included in a month. The target is to bring 10000 hawkers across the state under this platform in a year. The Hawker Sangram Committee has also earmarked some places for setting up offline centres in Salt Lake Sector-V, New Town, Patuli floating market and a handful of places in Central Kolkata.

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