This Upper Assam town is embracing its own with love and care — be it medical assistance, food or ways to find a source of earning for the jobless — to tide over the crisis created by the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak.

Jorhat deputy commissioner Roshni A. Korati said delivery boys of various online shopping sites, who have become jobless following the lockdown, have been engaged to deliver grocery, vegetables and other essentials at people’s doorsteps.

“The phone numbers of these delivery boys have been listed and it will be made available to the public soon,” Korati said, adding that this way people need not come out of their houses while the delivery boys will have a source of earning in these difficult times.

The district administration has also fixed area-wise dates and time for opening of grocery and vegetable shops during the lockdown days. Korati said a few grocery shops have been identified and their names and contact numbers would be provided to the public.

The home delivery preparation by the Jorhat administration bears significance as chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced closure of vegetable, meat and fish markets in the state from Friday. He made the announcement in Jorhat, where he had arrived to review the district’s preparation to fight Covid-19.

Gunin Neog, a delivery boy engaged with an e-commerce platform, said he was very happy about the development as he would have a source of earning for the next few days. “I was under severe stress for the past couple of days after services were closed down as I am the only earning member in the family. Now I see a ray of hope,” he said.

Korati said a few businessmen from Jorhat have also come forward with a helping hand to provide food to the poor and needy families during the lockdown.

The initiative to distribute food to at least 50 families was taken up by Raju Goyal, a local businessman, on the first day of the lockdown. The district administration intervened after a few more businessmen came forward to help the needy.

“A few families in and around the town have been identified and the distribution process will start from tomorrow (Saturday),” a district administration official said.

A young doctor from the town, who has just completed her MBBS, has also come forward to help the needy by providing advice during the lockdown period.

Ankita Goyal has given her contact number on various social media platforms so that the needy can contact her for any medical-related advice. She said her friends and a few professionals have also joined her.

Jorhat police have provided phone numbers on social networking platforms to help the elderly in the town. “We are there for any kind of assistance to our senior citizens,” a message by Jorhat police said.