Centre sets up control room to facilitate movement of essential goods

With lockdowns in different forms imposed in several States in the face of the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the government has set up a control room to help facilitate movement of essential goods across the country.

The control room will be helmed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and will monitor the status of transportation and delivery of goods, manufacturing, delivery of essential commodities to people and the difficulties being faced by various stakeholders due to the current restrictions.

Issues reported by various stakeholders, including trade and industry bodies, to the control room shall be taken up by the Centre with the State governments concerned. It is not clear at this point if the industry’s demand that the distinction between delivery of essential goods, which is permissible, and non-essential goods be done away with, will be taken up with individual States.

“A Control room is being set up to monitor the issues of internal trade, manufacturing, delivery and logistics of essential commodities during Covid pandemic. In the event of any manufacturing, transportation, distribution, wholesale or e-commerce companies facing difficulties in transportation and distribution of goods or mobilization of resources, information can be given at the following telephone number/email: (011) 23062383, 23062975, dpiit-controlroom@gov.in,” the department said in a statement.