Hyderabad: This Diwali season has seen some great online deals, but the people of Telangana are facing a peculiar situation. E-commerce biggies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues, Jabong, Zovi and Myntra etc. do not recognise Telangana even after 130 days since the state was formed.
As a result, people from Hyderabad and other districts of the state have to choose Andhra Pradesh as their home state while filling the address column.
Selecting AP as an option was a customary practice for online purchases before June 2. However, shopping portals are carrying the same trend even after bifurcation.
A customer from TS, say from Warangal, making an online purchase will not find Telangana in the drop-down menu to select his home state.
IT experts are baffled over the laxity of the shopping portals, since this issue can be resolved with minor changes in the software.
For portals raking in big money these days, making software modifications is not a big deal, they said.
Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry president M. Venkateshwarlu observed, “E-shopping leaders have ignored this aspect. It should be brought to the notice of all companies, which are into online shopping, both national and international. Online shopping sites should update information at the earliest. Failing which would not only dent their business, but also cause inconvenience and confusion to those shopping from the state.”
Vishnu Murthy of Telangana IT Association has appealed to online shopping giants to make the necessary modifications.
T. Vishwanadh, a software employee and a regular online shopper said, “Even after four months since the formation of Telangana, few websites have not included Telangana option in their drop down list. It is like insulting the people of Telangana.”
IT and panchayat raj minister K.T. Rama Rao stated that his government would intervene, if need be, so that online shopping portals made the required changes.
