Passes yes, but passing the buck is more rampant
The entire system seems to have collapsed. The persons who are being issued passes seem to be favourites or chamchas of the ruling political class.
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Give one call to anyone and the answer is out: they will not pick your call nor bother to respond. Send
them a WhatsApp – it’s a dead end. Why should then these passes not be revoked? Why should
the system not be more transparent? What are the criteria for the issue of the passes? My belief that
the system of delivery should be done through Municipalities and Panchayats have come in for
criticism too. Only select supporters are being serviced. There is also confusion about who is supposed to issue the pass. One passes the buck to the other despite circulars/orders- Carlos Alvares
Ferreira Advocate,
Margao
Supply chain collapse
A complete failure of the supply chain. Nobody picks up the call. We don’t
know where is grocery available-
William Xavier, CEO at WillXav Films & Music, Panjim
Panchayat food pack, not enough
The home delivery of groceries is not working in Pilerne. I feel it’s working in major cities like
Panjim. The panchayat had given a packet of rice, dal and poha which is
not even enough for a family of four for two days-
Tulsidas Naik
Service, Pilerne
The one open store in my area closes at 8.30 am Despite the edict that grocery stores remain open 24/7 the ground reality is much different. When the quarantine started there were just 3 small grocery stores open between within a 1-kilometer radius of Candolim market. Today due to supply chain issues, that number is down to just one open store, and that store closes at 8:30 am. The lack of public transport
means that these stores have to be reached on foot. Worse, there is no stock at this one store- no availability of biscuits, bread, eggs, Maggi noodles, jam, butter, pet food, meats or soda pop.
Goa Junction shut down after taking multiple orders and refunds are now pending. Meanwhile, Valanka
stores in Calangute informed me they cannot make deliveries to Candolim. Delfinos is closed and Newton’s supermarket WhatsApp order number displays a message saying they have suspended orders because they have over “7000 pending orders and a complete disruption of the supply chain”.
To me, as a Candolim resident, this represents a complete and utter failure of the government to
provide its people access to basic necessities-
Jason Fernandes
-Founder TokenJay.TV,
Candolim
Our dynamic sarpanch is doing his utmost best by personally going to poor families and giving them free groceries. Also, the concerned authorities should raid the outlets across Goa and arrest the persons selling at high price rate. If the Government fails to do the checks, then God forbid, it will lead
to civic unrest never experienced in Goa-
Einstein Barretto,
Businessman Assagao
Stocks, vehicles, drivers ready but no passes
When a few stores opened from yesterday,
we could buy some veggies, essentials, which are sold at highly overpriced rates. There are
hundreds of SOS calls from senior citizens stuck in hotels or homes, with no supplies. There are
tourists stuck in guest houses or small hotels, who have no kitchens, no water purifiers, etc, and
desperately need bottled water, Sitting at home, we have managed to find farmers in Goa or even
water bottle suppliers, who said they have stock, have vans that could deliver, even drivers willing
to work, but they can’t get curfew passes for their vehicles. Wherever stores in walking distance not
possible, the administration could have asked local companies like Delhivery, or even Blue Dart local
office to kick in for deliveries. But instead, they have given passes to panchayat members, who are
mostly invisible. The volunteer network without having the heft of the government machinery, or connections or even curfew passes, have managed to help out so many citizens, so why is the government still stumbling-
Nupura
Hautamaki Events
Manager, Anjuna
Supply chain issues are holding up deliveries
The issues facing us are not delivery but supply chain issues. Vendors and distributors are showing helplessness in mobilizing stocks because of a number of regulatory and staffing problems being faced by them. Masons has prioritized its delivery network to the elderly, sick, needy and senior citizens. As on date, we have affected over 1200 deliveries covering only bare day to day essentials. We have currently over 3000 pending orders and our social media groups and platforms cannot cope. This situation can only improve once the Government opens up the supply chain network
from neighbouring states by talking to their counterparts in Karnataka and Maharashtra to
allow free flow of cargo. I wish to sincerely put this out in the public domain that when things were extremely bad in the initial days of the lockdown, IT Minister Jennifer Monseratte encouraged us and helped us through the initial official permits. Thereafter, our mountain of strength has been Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane, available at a single phone call, clearing every obstacle that has been coming
our way making it easier for me and my team to deliver whatever we can to the citizens of Goa. The
Panaji PI and his team are ably supporting us. This gives strength to our resolve to continue serving. Till we can-
Kirit Maganlal
Founder and CEO
Magsons Group
