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Business News/ News / India/  Covid-19: Ola deploys crowd-control tech in Punjab mandis
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Covid-19: Ola deploys crowd-control tech in Punjab mandis

News reports from Delhi and Rajasthan show that authorities have been struggling to ensure social distancing at wholesale markets and mandis
  • Ola CONNECTS functions as a crowd control system, helping local administration ensure social distancing on a real-time basis
  • Photo: MintPremium
    Photo: Mint

    BENGALURU: Cab-hailing platform Ola has deployed its location tracking and geo-fencing technology—Ola CONNECTS—at over 3,800 mandis (markets) in Punjab, in a tie-up with the state's mandi board, to track the movement of farmers and ensure social distancing in the state, said a top company executive.

    Thousands of farmers ply between their farms, storage houses and mandis on a daily basis to sell their produce. News reports from Delhi and Rajasthan show that authorities have been struggling to ensure social distancing at wholesale markets and mandis.

    Traders in Delhi have been falling short of supplies due to strict social distancing norms applied on truck drivers from nearby states--Rajasthan and Punjab, according to reports. Many farmers and buyers at Mumbai’s MMRDA grounds, which is now being used for vegetable wholesale, flouted social distancing norms openly, reports said.

    Ola CONNECTS functions as a crowd control system, helping local administration ensure social distancing on a real-time basis, said an Ola spokesperson.

    Currently, the technology has covered around 1.7 million farmers in Punjab alone, and the company plans to expand to other neighbouring states as well, the spokesperson added.

    The startup also plans to expand Ola CONNECTS to emergency healthcare operations, logistics and supply chain management, and law enforcement operations in the near future. Public-sector organisations such as India Post, government clinics and public canteens are likely candidates for the next roll-out of Ola CONNECTS, said a person aware of Ola's operations, requesting not to be named.

    “The capabilities Ola’s technology (for cab-hailing) that allows optimisation of demand and supply in any geography is being made available through the CONNECTS platform now. In this case, there are capacities at each mandi on a daily basis, and this platform can also help mandi officials match the incoming flow of farmers in real-time," the spokesperson said.

    As soon as a farmer registers their phone number on the app, they receive a push notification from an operator at their nearest mandi. Once a farmer registers for supply drop, Ola CONNECTS provides them with a schedule to drop their produce.

    After a farmer selects a slot, they also receive an e-pass (with a daily expiry date) that can be shown to authorities and police on request. Ola CONNECTS dashboard maintained by the operator provides details such as number of farmers on their way, distance to be covered, and ETA—similar to Ola consumer app for booking cabs.


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    Published: 17 Apr 2020, 03:44 PM IST
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