GUWAHATI, April 12 - Many city residents� bid to avail home delivery of chickens for their Sunday lunch turned sour as repeated calls made to the vendors, allowed by the Kamrup Metro administration to deliver dressed chicken at the doorsteps of people, went unanswered.
Amidst the lockdown, the Kamrup Metro administration had granted permission to 35 vendors and circulated their phone numbers for home delivery of chickens in the city.
�I made several calls to a vendor, but he did not pick up the phone. I tried to contact other vendors as well, but their phones were either switched off or not reachable. We were planning to have Sunday lunch with chicken but ended up having soybean,� rued Deepak Talukdar, a resident of Beltola.
Being Sunday, more people ventured out despite the lockdown to purchase meat and fish this morning.
�There was a chaotic situation outside meat shops. Luckily, I could buy chicken at a shop at Silpukhuri this morning. I had tried for home delivery, too, but the call went unanswered,� Padum Saud of Silpukhuri said.
�It is not the case with chicken only. The numbers and apps being provided for the door-to-door delivery of vegetables and other items are also not functioning properly. There should be strict monitoring in this regard,� he added.
The district administration, through a notification, had said that only door-to-door delivery of chicken (broiler) would be allowed and sale of meat at shops and markets would not be permitted. The rule was same for sale of fish.
On the contrary, sellers were spotted selling fish and meat on the streets and at shops in different parts of the city.
When contacted, a district administration official said, �The permission of the vendors who do not abide by the rules laid down by the district administration, will be cancelled.�
Moreover, door-to-door sale of fish was also allowed by the administration from Friday and fixed the rates for different varieties of fish. However, the retailers took undue advantage of the situation and sold fish at exorbitant prices.
�The prices are so high that I changed my decision to buy one. They asked for Rs 450 per kg of silver carp,� Hirakjyoti Choudhury of Bhetapara Chariali said.
