Dear Comrades,
The world will honour its postmen on Sunday, October 9 by celebrating World Post Day.
Postal services in India have declined with the introduction of mobile phones and, notably, internet services. Yet the postal tradition has continued in spite of this bump by constantly innovating itself. "We have more work now as the Indian Postal Department handles telephone bill delivery, delivery of bank statements and newspapers too," said HC Amin, a postman at the General Post Office in Ahmedabad.
Competition has arrived in the form of private couriers also. Even with the introduction of Speed Post, the courier companies have an advantage. So the postmen try to be customer-friendly, by taking letters and parcels from home.
Yet one man who does not agree with the numbers of the department is Manabhai. Sitting outside the GPO, Manabhai has been selling envelopes for the past 50 years. Today he earns just about Rs100 from the sales. "Of course, the sales have declined drastically."
With a history that spans 500 years, the Indian Postal Service is supposed to be one of the most widely distributed networks in the world. Yet, since 1982, it has stopped its recruitment externally.
Through the 'Gramin Dak Sewa', Group D workers are promoted to the designation of postmen.
The postmen currently working in the department say that their workload has in fact increased. "It is true that the number of people using the Indian Postal Department has declined. But the drop is only marginal. The thing is the staff has decreased by almost 50%. And because of development, one postman has to cover more areas. So, in fact, the workload has increased," said Amin.
In a career that spans over 30 years, Amin feels that with all the leg work, the postmen earn the respect from the public. "Once in a Zilla Panchayat region, I was delivering letters and I had no money with me. It was in the times of curfew and I saw someone selling Dhara oil cheap. I just told a passerby that I wish I could buy the oil. A shopkeeper heard me and without a second thought lent me the money."
Another postman, Manu R Parmar, three months away from his retirement, adds that he has even delivered Haj tickets to people during curfew hours.
dnaindia.com
The world will honour its postmen on Sunday, October 9 by celebrating World Post Day.
Postal services in India have declined with the introduction of mobile phones and, notably, internet services. Yet the postal tradition has continued in spite of this bump by constantly innovating itself. "We have more work now as the Indian Postal Department handles telephone bill delivery, delivery of bank statements and newspapers too," said HC Amin, a postman at the General Post Office in Ahmedabad.
Competition has arrived in the form of private couriers also. Even with the introduction of Speed Post, the courier companies have an advantage. So the postmen try to be customer-friendly, by taking letters and parcels from home.
Yet one man who does not agree with the numbers of the department is Manabhai. Sitting outside the GPO, Manabhai has been selling envelopes for the past 50 years. Today he earns just about Rs100 from the sales. "Of course, the sales have declined drastically."
With a history that spans 500 years, the Indian Postal Service is supposed to be one of the most widely distributed networks in the world. Yet, since 1982, it has stopped its recruitment externally.
Through the 'Gramin Dak Sewa', Group D workers are promoted to the designation of postmen.
The postmen currently working in the department say that their workload has in fact increased. "It is true that the number of people using the Indian Postal Department has declined. But the drop is only marginal. The thing is the staff has decreased by almost 50%. And because of development, one postman has to cover more areas. So, in fact, the workload has increased," said Amin.
In a career that spans over 30 years, Amin feels that with all the leg work, the postmen earn the respect from the public. "Once in a Zilla Panchayat region, I was delivering letters and I had no money with me. It was in the times of curfew and I saw someone selling Dhara oil cheap. I just told a passerby that I wish I could buy the oil. A shopkeeper heard me and without a second thought lent me the money."
Another postman, Manu R Parmar, three months away from his retirement, adds that he has even delivered Haj tickets to people during curfew hours.
dnaindia.com
