Indian Post hears grievances at business meeting

Speaking on the occasion, Prakash Bhat, RTI activist, said that the contents of letters are written on envelopes and acknowledgments. Stating that this becomes a huge problem, especially when one is seeking information under RTI, he said that when the receiver signs the acknowledgment, he/she cannot ask if the information mentioned on the acknowledgment is available in the letter too.

He also complained that the postal department does not have enough postal orders, adding that one hardly gets postal orders of Rs. 10 and Rs. 20, which people who apply under RTI Act badly need. He urged the department to make sure that there is no shortage of Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 postal orders.

Mr. Bhat also complained of delays in delivery of speed post, adding that the acknowledgment does not provide details regarding the sender of the speed post.

He also urged post offices to have separate counters for bill payments, registered post, and speed post as customers will have wait for long hours in queues. He also pointed out that post offices do not supply pincode books.

Responding to these grievances, Dr. K. Chandrashekar, senior superintendent of police, said that the government has asked security instruments such as national savings certificates (NSCs), postal orders, and others to be converted into the demat format. Speaking about the best features of the Indian postal system, he said that it has one of the best delivery and end-to-end tracking system, in which booking and delivery are closely monitored. Simultaneously, he admitted that there are delays in delivering registered post if the postman is not able to find the right person. He also said that expensive parcels must be insured, adding that the postal department will reimburse cost of lost parcels within a fortnight.

A PowerPoint on services available at the Indian Post Office was shown on this occasion.