Eight months after a new building was allotted for the Parthasarathy Koil post office, residents of Triplicane are asking why the establishment has not yet begun operations here.
Nearly a hundred years old, this post office has a resonance among these residents, 1,260 of whom are part of a signature campaign that wants it to function in its new space.
The signatories have now made a representation to the Chief Minister’s cell.
Residents said the post office was patronised by nearly 25,000 people and that the establishment managed the savings accounts of around 1,000 people, most of them seniors. R. Viswanathan, a resident, said the post office had been functioning out of the Triplicane post office on Triplicane High Road for the last two years, for want of premises of its own.
S. Rama Rao, another resident, said that most senior citizens who used the post office walked an additional 2 km to carry out transactions, due to this arrangement.
“We have been waging a battle for the new post office on Car Street for nearly two years now,” he said.
Residents said that though the postal department was prepared to pay the rent for the new building, which is owned by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department (HR and CE), a tussle between these two departments had delayed the process.
The HR and CE department has demanded a deposit for the 506 sq.ft. premises, but the postal department has refused to pay the amount, saying this would amount to a violation of departmental rules, residents said.
T.J. Ramani, another resident, said that people of Triplicane also attempted to collect money to pay the deposit. But this initiative did not find favour with either department.
Residents recalled that the post office got its name as it was first housed in a building owned by temple authorities on Big Street. In 2004, it was shifted to a building on Hanumantharayan Koil Street after the earlier structure became dilapidated.
In 2010, the post office was once again shifted to the premises of the Triplicane post office.
In their petition, residents have requested the State government to ensure a relaxation on the payment of the deposit and inaugurate the post office as soon as possible.
