Coronavirus in UP: EPOS sales for groceries in Kaushambi's 12 sealed villages

PRAYAGRAJ: In a first, Kaushambi would dole out wheat and rice among 3,000 beneficiaries in 12 villages — sealed after two men tested positive for Covid-19 in the district — under the supervision of kotedaars equipped with electronic point of sale (EPOS) machines.
EPOS or EPoS or E-PoS is a computerised system used in shops and other retail outlets for recording sales.Not only does it facilitate online payments, but also ensures transparency in transactions. The foodgrains will be distributed under the public distribution system (PDS).
Kaushambi district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said, “After two men were tested positive for Covid-19 in Malak Pachambha block in Kaushambi, we sealed around 12 villages and entry and exit of residents has been since restricted. The administration has chalked out a plan to ensure that residents don’t run out of groceries. According to the plan, a kotedaar would be taking rice, wheat and other essential commodities to 3,000 PDS beneficiaries to their doorstep in these sealed villages. The sales would be recorded with EPOS machines.”
Besides, basic education and panchayati raj departments have also launched an awareness campaign in these villages and are urging people to wash their hands with soap at regular intervals to shield themselves against novel coronavirus. Teams of government officials are also telling locals about the right way of washing hands.
The administration has divided the district into 30 sectors and each sector\zonal in charge has been provided with a loud hailer to help them reach out to maximum number of people in villages.
The DM said, “We have distributed over 100 loud hailers which would help officials connect with more and more people and ensure that they are following lockdown guidelines. The officials would also be dispelling several myths surrounding the pandemic.”
The farmers who are allowed to for cutting of crops have been strictly asked to follow social distancing norms.