E-commerce companies temporarily stop taking orders for non-essential items

E-commerce companies Paytm Mall, Amazon and Flipkart have temporarily stopped taking orders for non-essential items due to restrictions imposed during the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The companies had on Wednesday complained about their delivery staff being punished by local police despite government orders to exempt them from lockdown restrictions.

“Paytm Mall has decided to help users buy essential products including household staples, healthcare, hygiene, personal safety products on its platform. The company would temporarily not take any new orders for products that fall in the non-essential categories including fashion, mobile, and accessories, white goods and electronics among others,” Paytm Mall said in a statement.