KISAMA, DEC. 5 (EMN) — Over the years, visitors to the Hornbill Festival in Kisama, who want to take back home the locally made products, have often faced logistic challenges in the absence of delivery services.
Realising this genuine challenge faced by the visitors, some
logistics companies have turned it into an opportunity by introducing delivery
services in Kisama this year.
One can locate a good number of stalls in Kisama bearing logistic companies’ logos—both government- and private-run.
Luthono Resuh, who is looking after the Blue Dart stall located at Handloom and Craft Pavilion, shared that they receive orders for delivery across the country as well as locally.
They are also getting requests for delivery outside India
but customers backed off after learning of the shipping price.
“Often the products requested for international shipping are prohibited by Aviation and we have to abide by the rules and policies,” she said. The items requested include machete, glass items, and other heavy metals which are restricted.
At the same time, they received a lot of orders from customers for deliveries within and across the country. The products vary from small to heavy items including furniture. A certain customer had placed an order for shipping a table, bought at Kisama, to New Delhi.
Besides the cross-country deliveries, the companies also do deliveries from Kisama to Kohima—a task they try to complete in a single day.
“Most of the customers are from outside the state and a lot of them used to say that they want to enjoy the festival freely, without the hassle of carrying bags around,” she said.
Further, they want to send their stuff home in advance to avoid airport checking.
“We make sure that the products are packed properly and nothing gets broken. We repack everything to ensure nothing gets damaged and try to ship them the next day,” she added.
So far, they have not received any complaint in respect of their deliveries, she said.
Upon receiving orders for deliveries, consignment numbers are issued to the customer on the spot. This way, it becomes easier to track the shipments, she explained.
The 21-year-old Resuh also shared her experiences of managing the stall. She is currently interning at Blue Dart in Kohima.
As a fresh graduate, she said that accumulating as much experience as possible and building resume are important for her. She expressed belief that her experiences will take her far in her career.
Looking after the stall provides an opportunity for her to communicate with tourists, she said, adding that it helps learn “so much from the tourists about their places.”
“In Nagaland, many youth feel shy to explore and get exposure and chose to stay in their comfort zones; but for me, I want to gain experiences,” she said.
Paokam, HR at Online Express Nagaland, also shared that they have received requests for delivering products from Kisama to Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and the other Northeast states.
Delivery orders for around 30 parcels were received till November 4, he said. Most of the orders received are for handloom items and Nagaland coffee.
Besides the two companies, there are other logistic services available at Kisama, including India Post.