On August 31, E. B. Selvaraj, a 78-year-old resident of Adyar, went to the Adyar post office to receive his pension, all by himself.
Until last month, he would be accompanied by a family member or an auto driver. He needed assistance to climbing the stairs as the section for customers was functioning from the first floor of the building.
Now, the section has been shifted to the ground floor, which is proving to be of immense help to senior-citizens like Selvaraj.
“I am glad I don’t have to climb the stairs. Climbing down the stairs is difficult for I would think I might lose my balance,” says Selvaraj.
For many years, this section of the Adyar Post Office, which comes under Chennai City Division South, was functioning from the first floor of Besant Avenue Road.
After repeated representations by senior citizens, it was shifted to the ground floor.
According to an official, close to 1,500 senior citizens hold an account at the Adyar post office. The office also offers services such as payment of telephone and electricity bills and packing and parcelling.
Another customer, N. Devendran (72), who is a resident of Gandhi Nagar, says, “It is of immense relief to us. It will be better if additional counters are provided exclusively for senior-citizens.
At least on the first and last date of every month, when most of the senior citizens are expected to visit the office. If such a measure is taken, we don’t have to keep standing in the queue for a long time. We can also leave early.”
N. Kamala Kannan, 79, who lives in Kottupuram, says, “I have knee pain and now I don’t have to worry about aggravating my problem.”
Postmaster General Mervin Alexander says, “During inspections, we found that the staircase was very steep and senior citizens also requested to shift the customers’ section to the ground floor. Also, we have a postal forum in which a good number of members are senior citizens and they have highlighted this problem.”
He also said that there are plans to shift the post offices in Velachery, Porur and Mugalivakkam, all of which are which are functioning on the first floor, to the ground floor.
“As these offices function on a rented building, it cannot be done immediately. Once a suitable alternative is found, a similar measure will be taken,” he said.
Now that the Adyar Post Office has taken this step, residents say similar measures should be taken at other government buildings.
EB offices should be made senior-friendly“The office of the electricity board at Besant Nagar functions from the second floor. There are no lifts. With repeated representations, a counter on the ground floor was provided exclusively for senior citizens. But, most of the time, the computers do not function at this counter and we have to climb the stairs to pay the bills,” says V. Chandrasekhar, founder, Senior Citizens Group of Besant Nagar.
The EB office at Kottivakkam also functions on the first floor.
“The staircase is very steep. I cannot climb at one go. I catch my breath after a few steps and there proceed up the stairs. Once I reach the first floor, I don’t immediately join the queue. Instead, I first sit for a while to catch my breath. And I request some other customer to pay the bill. It will be convenient if the office is shifted to ground floor,” says A. Swaminathan, a senior citizen living in Kottivakkam.
