Business / BigBasket suspends operations today, says will be back soon

New Delhi: Online grocery player BigBasket temporarily suspended operations today, promising to be back soon. "We are not operational today due to restrictions imposed by local authorities on movement of goods. We are working with the relevant authorities to enable delivery as soon as possible," BigBasket said on its website.

Another major e-commerce player Flipkart has suspended services, as India began a 21-day lockdown to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday has ordered a 21-day nationwide lockdown but the government has exempted e-commerce deliveries of essentials such as food and medical equipment in addition to grocery stores and banks.

"Consequent to the order issued on March 24 by the Ministry of Home Affairs announcing a 21-day lockdown across India to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus causing Covid-19, we are temporarily suspending our services," Flipkart said in a blogpost.

"We will be back to serve you as soon as possible," Flipkart added.

Another e-commerce player Amazon on Tuesday said that it has temporarily stopped taking orders and disabled shipment of low-priority products as it focuses on delivery of essential items like household staples, hygiene and other high-priority products.

Bigbasket on Monday said that it has acquired 100% stake in Bengaluru-based milk delivery app DailyNinja. The acquisition will allow Bigbasket to consolidate its position, especially in the subscription delivery space in Bengaluru.