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Stay home! These vendors will deliver till your doorstep

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By Kriti Kalra

While most of Colaba avail daily products like vegetables and dairy products from their neighbourhood, it's area like Colaba Post Office where residents have to travel in one direction all the way to Colaba Market to shop for their daily needs: Southwards, lies the defence zone leading all the way to R C Church completely bereft of any shopping options for civilians.

And, with the weekend lockdown to be imposed from 5 April 2021 to combat the soaring cases of COVID-19, The Draft Colaba has compiled a list of shops and vendors who provide doorstep delivery of fruits, vegetables, grocery items and milk products to residents particularly in and around Colaba Post Office, to meet the surge in demand.

"It's a very scary situation now," says a Post Office resident and mother of two Manasi Gupta who adds, "I prefer to call in for any products I may need rather urgently and would strictly stay indoors, at least for a month for now, or till this lockdown ends."

Here, the shops and markets aren't close at hand and residents need to travel and mostly by foot, owing to the one-way traffic zone to buy items of daily need. And now, with the COVID-19 situation going out of hand and the lockdown upon residents, it's a blessing for material to be delivered at home. And, without the mandatory 'minimum limits' at laid by most larger multinational outlets.

Once again, for Colaba's residents, it's the smallest of grocers, fruitwallas, shops and vendors delivering goods to buyers right till their doorsteps and pay for whatever they buy and however little. Here goes a list of the shops and stalls with contact details for use:

* Colaba Cross Lane-based Mitha General Stores' owner Cynthia D'Souza is ensuring regular customers, especially the infirm, are not inconvenienced owing to the imminent lockdown. "Now that COVID-19 cases are rising again, we're arranging for home deliveries for those who're unable to step out of their homes. We always make sure customers' needs are taken care of on priority. This has been our USP since my grandmother's time, after whom the shop has been named," she offers.

Cynthia D'Souza/Mitha General Stores

* Lucky Fruits Centre's owners, brothers Shehzad and Imran Ali, have been selling fruits for more than a decade at Wodehouse Road and have, since the lockdown, focussed on making home deliveries too. Shehzad says, "I was doing it during the lockdown for most of last year, delivering fruits to Cuffe Parade, Colaba and Churchgate areas. Sometimes, if customers would make special requests for a specific fruit that say helped boost their immunity, I would arrange for that too. Now, we are all braced to meet the surge in demand for home-delivery again."

Shehzad Ali/Lucky Fruits Centre 

* Vegetable vendor Santosh Kumar selling vegetables on the pavement opposite Colaba Sub Post Office has been getting more requests from residents for home deliveries lately. "Although the situation is still under control in this zone but people are worried and taking precautions as much as possible. Many customers request me to deliver vegetables and I drop their order outside their residence after I shut business at night," maintains Santosh.

Santosh Kumar/Vegetable Vendor

* New Basti Cold-drink House situated opposite Bombay Baptist Church has been delivering eggs, bread, etc., to neighbourhood homes. Rizwan Khan, who physically manages the shop with brother Sufiyan, who does the deliveries, says, "Now, with news of another lockdown imminent, fewer people are stepping out of their homes. So, we're getting more orders of home deliveries from customers extremely reluctant to come out to shop."

Rizwan Khan/New Basti Cold-drink House

* Fruit-seller Tarak Das, who sells fruits from a cart, outside Sassoon Docks for years now has been making home deliveries after work, almost daily. "I drop the fruits to customers' homes when I am through with work around 8.30 pm - 9 pm. Since I alone handle the fruit cart, it's not possible for me to leave it during work." But, he makes it a point to reach his wares till your doorstep when possible, even if it's late at night.

Tarak Das/Fruit-Seller

* Sassoon Dock Dairy Farm's Mohammed Hasib has been quite busy lately delivering orders across the zone. He says, "We're not only making regular deliveries but also on request of customers ordering for milk and milk products such as paneer, curd, etc. I am arranging the same in Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Badhwar Park and other nearby areas."

Mohammed Hasib/Sassoon Dock Dairy Farm

* Sahakari Bhandar, a neighbourhood grocery store with 27 outlets across Mumbai, has been extremely cooperative in ensuring assistance to its loyal customer base. The 16-year-old Colaba outlet located near Colaba Bus Station on Shahid Bhagat Singh Road has been attending to an increased customer base since the outlet at Regal Circle shut last year. General Manager Surendra Karhade says, "The personnel at the outlet go out of their way to help customers in need. There is no minimum order amount and often when elderly or physically impaired residents request them to drop off an order, the boys at the outlet do so happily."

Sahakari Bhandar

(Note: This article has been generated in public interest, as part of The Draft's #NewsOfUse features, and is not an advertisement or advertorial. Readers are advised to use their discretion in availing any goods or services from the ones featured. The Draft takes no legal responsibility for the credibility of the vendors' antecedents or their claims) 

(Note: Some subjects may have removed their masks only to be identified in photographs to be used with this news report. COVID-19 appropriate behaviour has been maintained at all times)