Pipeline Delivery, Kerala Shopkeeper invents new idea to keep himself safe from COVID-19

The reality is not hidden to anyone that the world, at the moment, is fighting against the coronavirus outbreak. The entire world is going towards a lockdown. People are living in fear due to the COVID-19 outbreak

The coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, China, has spread in over 160 countries so far, thereby lockdown is taking place in several countries. People have been advised to adopt social distancing during the lockdown.

In India alone, the confirmed positive cases of coronavirus have surpassed 800 so far, while more than 15 people have died in the country from the infection. The speed with which corona is spreading seems unstoppable.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown across India.

Ever since nationwide lockdown was implemented, people are maintaining social distancing to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, a photo of a shopkeeper from Kerala went viral on social media like wildfire. In the photo, the shopkeeper is seen selling groceries in an innovative way. He has invented a new idea to sell goods to his customers amid the coronavirus outbreak. His innovative technique is being appreciated a lot by netizens.

The photo, which is doing the rounds on social media, shows that the shopkeeper is from Kerala who has set up a plastic pipe near the counter of his shop to transfer supplies to his customers.

The shopkeeper is not making any physical contact with customers. To maintain social distancing, the Kerala shopkeeper is selling supplies to his customers through the pipeline. This is how he has started a pipeline delivery in Kerala. In the photo, the shopkeeper can be seen inserting the supplies in the pipe which are received by the customer from the other end of the pipe.

There are chances that other shopkeepers may also adopt this technique to maintain physical distancing. Surprisingly, the beautiful way of selling goods has caught the attention of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who took to his Twitter handle to share the photo and wrote, “How to maintain physical distance between shopkeeper & customer while buying essential supplies — the Kerala way!”

Tharoor’s tweet has garnered more than 12,600 likes. Netizens were amused with the jugaad, while some calling it “pipeline delivery”.

One user commented, “Indian Jugaad!! Never fails to amuse!!!” another wrote, “Novelty and constructive way – “coronavirus” is teaching us all, “survival, safety, sensibilities,” as people share their experience. 

While someone tweeted, “Innovative ways are coming to light, avashyakta avishkar ki janani hai (Necessity is the mother of invention)”. One tweet read, “Online delivery to pipeline delivery”

India is making all necessary efforts to prevent the fast-spreading disease. Recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown for 21 days across the country during his address to the nation. India, at the moment, is under complete lockdown in order to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

Writer, historian, and activist Dharam Sikarwar is a very active author The Youth. He writes on national and international issues, environment, politics. He is an avid book reader as well.