Coronavirus Lockdown: People Disappointed As Big Bazaar's Helpline Number For Doorstep Delivery In UP Remains Out Of Reach

Amid lockdown in India, as several online retailers suspended their services, Big Bazaar had taken up the task of door-step delivery of commodities. However, people in UP feel disappointed as they could not reach the helpline number provided by the retail giant.

(Photo by DIPTENDU DUTTA / AFP)

New Delhi: In a major disappointment to the people stuck indoors amid lockdown in Uttar Pradesh, the door step delivery service of grocery items as announced by Big Bazaar, remains unfulfilled. A large number of people in Uttar Pradesh have been coming up with complaints that the contact numbers issued by the retail giant remains switched off all the time. Big Bazaar shared a list of contact numbers for cities like Agra, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Noida, Ghaziabad and other places of its service in Uttar Pradesh and claimed that it will be providing doorstep delivery of commodities. However, as the issue was brought to notice, ABP News also tried contacting the numbers provided in the list but found them switched off even during daytime. As the online delivery space shrunk after e-retailers like BigBasket and Flipkart suspended their services, Big Bazaar was flooded with requests to start doorstep delivery services. Owned by Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL), part of the Future Group, Big Bazaar has also started doorstep delivery services in like Ranchi, Uttarakhand, Noida, Ghaziabad, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Faridabad, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

#UP के लोग लगातार बता रहे हैं कि सारे मोबाइल नंबर स्विच ऑफ हैं. #BigBazar ने #यूपी में लोगों के घरों तक ज़रूरी सामान पहुँचाने के लिए कुछ नंबर जारी किए. सभी नंबर 24*7 बंद रहता है. pic.twitter.com/UmpUpmOUhD

— Pankaj Jha (@pankajjha_) March 26, 2020

According to the government notification on the official 21-day lockdown period, "Shops including ration shops (under PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder can remain open. Future Retail that currently attracts over 35 crore footfalls across its retail network like Big Bazaar and Foodhall, is present in more than 400 cities with over 1,500 stores that cover over 16 million square feet of retail space. Big Bazaar is the flagship chain while small store neighborhood retail chains, EasyDay and Heritage Fresh, operate closer home to customers.