The city police have asked all police stations to follow New Alipore police station’s model of delivering essentials at the doorstep of residents “wherever feasible” so that they need not go to the market.

The Telegraph had on Sunday reported that New Alipore police station had introduced a system by which residents of the area under its control will have essentials such as vegetables and groceries delivered home and they would not have to visit the markets.

The police station has contacted vendors of essential items at the New Alipore and Gholsapur markets before rolling out the service.

A senior officer at the city police headquarters in Lalbazar told this newspaper that a message had been sent to all police stations, asking them to follow the New Alipore model “wherever feasible”.

“The model implemented by New Alipore police station has been quite successful. This has helped thin crowds at markets, which is a must to combat the spread of the coronavirus. We hope the other police stations would start implementing it,” he said.

Calcutta police has 79 police stations under its jurisdiction.

Sources at the police headquarters said the mechanism of home delivery of essentials being followed by New Alipore police station has been WhatsApped to the inspectors of the other police stations.

New Alipore police station covers a smaller area than many police stations in the city. The ones that are in charge of bigger areas have been advised to design the delivery mechanism keeping in mind the ground reality.

Officers also stressed that the facility was just an additional option for residents who did not want to step out. People who need to go out and buy essentials can still do it.

The police, an officer said, is more concerned about elderly people visiting markets. “This age group is most vulnerable,” he said.

In several counties in the US, which is fast emerging as the Covid-19 hotspot, the police have started the practice of delivering essentials at the doorstep of elderly people.

New Alipore police station has created a database of vendors, along with their mobile numbers, and shared it on a WhatsApp group that has 3,760 residents of the area as members. The members are being encouraged to share the numbers with residents who are not part of the group.

After placing an order, a resident is keeping one of the four sub-inspectors of the police station informed. An officer is collecting the items and delivering it to the address.