Postal Services: Needs More Attention
On World Post
Day 09 October 2012
Published at
Youth Ki Awaaz: (http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2012/10/postal-services-need-more-attention-on-world-post-day-9th-october-2012/)
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Receiving a
letter, looking for the postman, was the experience that certainly enjoyed by
all people before our generations. Regardless of rural and urban portfolios,
people of all types and of all class used to share the same feeling and same
happiness decades ago on arrival of postman in their area.
Those who were
illiterate used to go to a person who can read the letter for them. These all
things have its several impact and effect on social structure. At many times,
these things helped people to form a bond, to provide easier communication,
social bonding and to make a society in its real mean.
We experienced a
sudden change after the revolution made in virtual world of internet. Gradually
in a decade, we forget those ‘khaki’ wearing cycle riders. From the most
demanded person to the least important man, they witnessed it on themselves.
Still many of those who are using internet frequently for communication
purpose, can remember the days when they wrote essay on ‘The Postman”.
India Post has
updated itself with the time, but in competition with courier services, our
postal services lagged. Are the postal services not competent with other mode
of physical transfer of letters/articles/goods such as couriers? Still lot of
post offices in India is famous for their architecture. These have become
antique piece where people sometimes really visit to see it. We can see the
grand building, high roofs, old styled fans, a special smell, lot of old files,
old styled furnitures….and yes, many slow hands and old faces. Customers also
complaint about irritating behavior of post office personals.
Though, in fact
India Post also tried a lot to update itself with times and in fact brought lot
of new things that can be count for speed and value for money but in spite of
this it is loosing the charm.
On analyzing the
reasons, we can find that this decrease is not just due to launch of internet,
but also due to lack in efforts of postal services in the most required
awareness programs in creative ways.
It is World post
Day today, that is celebrated on anniversary of Universal Postal Union (1874).
It was declared as World post Day in 1969 with the purpose to create awareness
of the role of postal services in everyday lives and in socio economic
development of a country.
For India,
postal services are still so relevant because still most of the Indian
population lives in rural areas, urban areas also have not received support of
frequent internet connections, lack of electricity and many such reasons push
the India post to make its services better. In approx 1,54, 866 post offices of
India, 1.39,040 are situated in rural areas as per Annual report of India Post.
With this large network, Indian Postal services are placed with world’s largest
network. To make its services better and speedy, government has provisioned to
make all post offices IT (information technology) enabled. In this 12th
Five year plan, these services will be made fully equipped at all post offices.
To help the
upliftment of social schemes, government has collaborated the post offices with
many schemes so that people can get benefit with this largest network. Wages of
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guranatee Scheme also distributed
through post offices in various circles. National Postal Policy also launched
in Feb 2012. Even a special course of Gramin Dak Sevak’ launched by the
government under NIOS.
With these
upgradation, we can hope for the betterment of this service in future. As, its
betterment will be effective in uplifting socio economic condition of society
and the already built large network can be helpful in many more services.
We though are
not dependent on postal services for our general communication, but still we
can have the best way to send articles through post. On the occasion of World
Post Day, we can live a moment when we can write a letter and can post
Pic
by: Ravi Nitesh (Gol Dak Khana, New Delhi)
