NESHWIN ALMEIDA
MARGAO: Based on the complaint of Robin Viegas, we visited the Chinchinim post office to get a first-hand information of the irregular and disrupted postal service in the area bearing the pin code number 403715.
Incidentally, Viegas had also gone a step further and filed an online complaint with the postal department’s online portal, to bring forth the irregularities and functioning of the post office.
The local’s grievance was that ten mails sent from Chinchinim post office addressed to Benaulim had only four deliveries in a gap of ten days while six seemed to be in a prolonged transit, even though the distance is barely seven kms apart.
When we got to the counter of the post office on Saturday, a staffer who refused to tell her name told us that postal department services were disrupted due to the breakdown in the software.
She tried to explain that due to this the office could not avail of the cash transfer, banking services or any other parcel post services at Chinchinim branch.
Villagers we spoke to did not speak highly of the functioning of the post office and most were critical of its operations.
“Chinchinim post is very unreliable and there’s always discrepancy when it comes to its postal services. Chinchinim is known to have the highest number of seafarers and so several financial transactions, transfer and other correspondence takes place through mail. But the people have to depend on private banks and private courier services which are expensive, as the postal department is unreliable,” explains Selvy Fernandes, a resident of Chinchinim.
Selvy directs us to the post office that functions from dilapidated rented premises with no signage or board on the main road.
In fact, for those coming in for the first time, the post office can hardly be noticed. from the road.
The post office, which has its own banking services and advertises for ATM cards and higher interest rates, cannot function due to the its ‘software problem.’ In fact, a large sign displays this message for all those who come to the post office looking for the service.
What’s more, the post office has hardly any tables and proper drawers for sorting mail and many a time mail is kept on the dirty floor.
These days, as the postman is on Diwali vacation, the mail has been lying untended on the floor for days together.
“ I have lost important documents at the this post office and the staff too is very rude and hardly helps or provides assistance, even after making fervent requests,” narrates another resident, Cora Rodrigues.
The post office despite being in a crowded village in Salcete functions with just two staff member, a support staff and one postman.
It’s sad to note that very often our mail is lost or misplaced in transit, she laments.
