Kathmandu, April 2

The government initiated home delivery service is proving to be quite popular among the general public, albeit the Food Management and Trade Company (FMTC) is struggling to cope with the surging demand due to lack of sufficient delivery vans.

Manju Dahal, a resident of Anamnagar, had ordered some food items from the company with the help of her son. “We placed our order in the morning and the goods were delivered at around 5:00pm,” she beamed.

Binup KC, a resident of New Baneshwor, however, said that the company managed to deliver the goods only two days after he placed the order.

“However, the grocery items delivered by FMTC were more affordable compared to their price in retail stores around here,” he added.

As per the plan to supply daily essentials at the doorsteps of people residing in Kathmandu, the FMTC, a subsidiary of Nepal Food Corporation and National Trading Ltd, under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, recently started taking orders for home delivery services through landline telephone. “Because of the limited number of transport vehicles, we have been unable to deliver the goods as quickly as we would like to,” admitted Netra Prasad Subedi, chief executive officer of FMTC.

He assured that the company was planning to add more mobile vans soon. Increasing its fleet of delivery vans may be crucial in the coming days considering the popularity of the service. Despite the initial hiccups when the service was launched on March 28, FMTC claims that per day sales has already topped Rs 1.5 million.

“We expect our sales to further increase,” said Subedi.

According to Urmila KC, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the company delivered groceries with 10 per cent discount in Samakhusi Chowk, Gongabu, Tokha, Jhor, Khushibu, New Buspark, Balaju, Chakrapath, Kupondol, Sanepa, Kasada, Satungal and Patan today. Similarly, residents of Anamnagar, New Baneshwor, Buddhanagar and other major areas of Kathmandu Metropolitian City Ward 10 were also able to receive their goods today.

Similarly, Salt Trading Corporation is also distributing goods from its outlets including in Kalimati, Satungal, Teku, Banepa and Bhaktapur.

Moreover, Urmila informed that liquefied petroleum gas is also being distributed through mobile van service. The ministry has informed that it will intensify the distribution process. “There is no shortage of goods and the distribution of food items will continue as per demand.”

But customers like Binup are not too happy with the pace of the delivery. “I would have had a better buyer’s experience if the service was more quick and efficient,” he opined.

This means the firm should stop dragging its feet in introducing some crucial changes.

Subedi informed that the three digit telephone number that the company is planning to introduce will be ready within the next two days. “Due to some technical issues we have not been able to bring it into operation.”

A version of this article appears in e-paper of the Himalayan Times on April 03, 2020.