AGASAIM:The Agasaim post office catering to all the postal needs of the villagers for several years is in a dilapidated condition today.
The two-room structure constructed during the Portuguese era lies on the main road, close to the St Lawrence Church, and has been standing there since then. No renovation work has been carried out for several years, resulting in broken window panes, tiles and cracks in the existing old walls.
As roof tiles have been broken, a temporary plastic sheet has been raised and spread over the roof. But the leakage continues, making the mud walls, including the floor, even weaker.
The activities carried out at the Agasaim post office include sorting of letters and parcels on a daily basis, besides postal deposits, speed post and other undertakings related to post.
There are two postmasters and one sub-postmaster stationed at the post office. The concerned authority at the post office informed that the post office was opened in the village in 1965. And it has been in tumble-down condition for the past 10 years.
The property which houses the post office belongs to the St Lawrence Church Confraria and in order to take up repair work of the structure on priority basis, they had indicated an alternative place near the Agasaim village panchayat, with a rent of Rs 8,000 per month. But the higher postal authorities in Panjim are unwilling to accept the proposal.
Right now, the postal department is paying a rent of meagre Rs 300 on monthly basis to the church Confraria. “This practice has been followed for the past 10 years and a plea was made for hike in rent, which was not accepted by the postal authorities,” informed the president of St Lawrence Church Confraria, Victor Gracias.
Gracias said that a letter has been made to the postal department with a copy to the police station stating that due to the pathetic condition of the present structure, if any untoward incident occurs, then the church authorities should not be held responsible.
The employees at the post office informed that there is no toilet facility and it’s dangerous to store parcels and other correspondence in the premises due to leakage during rains and rodents.
It is made to understand that recently senior superintendent of Posts, includingassistant superintendent paid a visit and inspected the place. But neither decision nor action has been taken till date by the concerned authorities.
