Swiggy to open delivery-only kitchens for faster service
Bengaluru, Sep 26 : Leading food delivery start-up Swiggy on Wednesday said it will open delivery-only kitchens in four metros and partner with 300 restaurants to serve customers faster and expand the food delivery market across the country.
"We will soon open our 'access' kitchens in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai and tie up with about 300 restaurants in 10 cities within next 6-9 months to serve food faster," said the city-based app provider in a statement.
Through the initiative 'Swiggy Access', the company plans to help about 300 existing restaurants across 10 cities expand their businesses to more locations through kitchens that will only deliver food and involve no heavy real estate investments.
The restaurants will get access to kitchen infrastructure set up by Swiggy with no rents or deposits.
The platform is allowing restaurants to expand across cities through the project. A popular south Indian restaurant chain from Bengaluru, Vasudev Adiga's, will now deliver to consumers in Delhi through the access kitchen.
There is a deficit in restaurant supply in the country despite the mushrooming of new restaurants, according to the company.
"Several parts of a city may not have the restaurants and cuisines that a consumer wants, which these kitchens will make accessible," a company spokesperson told IANS.
By 2020, the company aims to spread the access kitchens across 30-40 cities in the country through tie-ups with hundreds of restaurants.
After raising $210 million in June from multiple investment firms, Swiggy has so far raised over $460 million. /EOM
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kerala reels under heavy rains; IMD issues red alert in three districts
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 26 (PTI): Heavy rains since Friday night have caused widespread damage across several parts of Kerala, raising water levels in rivers and dams and uprooting trees, which resulted in one death and injuries to several persons.
It also prompted the India Meteorological Department, on Saturday evening, to upgrade its rain alert status in Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur districts from 'orange' to 'red'.
It also issued an 'orange alert' for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts, and a 'yellow alert' for the remaining three.
A 'red alert' indicates "heavy to extremely heavy" rainfall of over 20 cm in 24 hours. An 'orange alert' denotes "very heavy" rainfall of 11 to 20 cm, while a 'yellow alert' signals "heavy rain" between 6 and 11 cm.
The IMD said rains are likely to persist over the next five days, accompanied by strong winds reaching speeds of 50-60 kmph till Sunday.
Fishing has been advised against along the Kerala-Karnataka-Lakshadweep coasts until July 30 due to rough seas and strong winds.
In Kozhikode, overnight rains and strong winds uprooted trees and caused extensive damage to houses and vehicles, prompting shifting of several families to safer places. However, no one was injured.
Power lines and electric poles were brought down, disrupting supply in many parts of the district.
Similar incidents were reported from Kottayam, Palakkad, and Kannur districts.
In Kannur, one person died when a tree fell on his house. In similar incidents in the district, few others were injured.
In Kottayam, besides the damage to homes due to uprooted trees, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) suffered a loss of Rs 2.43 crore due to several electric poles and power cables being brought down by the strong winds and rain in the district on Friday and Saturday.
In Kuttanad and Upper Kuttanad regions of Alappuzha district, the heavy rains resulted in inundation of several low-lying areas, including roads and homes, and rise in river waters to dangerous levels.
With water levels rising in their catchment areas, shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad, the Aliyar dam in Palakkad and Kakkayam Dam in Kozhikode district have been raised to release excess water.
Residents living downstream have been advised to stay vigilant.
The Irrigation Design and Research Board (IDRB) and Central Water Commission (CWC) have issued alerts for several rivers that have "risen dangerously", including the Manimala, Achankovil, and Pamba rivers in Pathanamthitta; Vamanapuram in Thiruvananthapuram; Pallikkal in Kollam, Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam and Thodupuzha in Idukki.
People residing along riverbanks have been urged to exercise caution and avoid entering or crossing the water bodies.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has warned of possible sea surges and high waves reaching 2.8 to 3.4 metres along the Kasaragod and Alappuzha coasts till 8.30 pm on Sunday.
Fishermen and coastal residents have been advised to remain alert, it added.
