Now an app to track letters online

Nanyatha, Android-based application, is an effort to address concerns over timely clearance of letters

Smart contact: Postal Department officials said each letter box has a unique bar code number affixed inside.

Residents can now check whether letters posted have been picked up in time through an online facility. The Department of Posts has now extended digitisation of letter box clearance across the city and its suburbs, through ‘ Nanyatha ’, a software developed to monitor such clearances.

From this month, clearances in nearly 1,417 letter boxes in the city and its suburbs, including Tambaram division, can be tracked online.

In an effort to address the residents’ concerns about timely clearance of letters dropped in letter boxes,

Nanyatha , the Android-based application, was developed to upload data about location and clearance of the letter boxes.

Officials of the Postal Department said each letter box has a unique bar code number affixed inside. Postal staff members who clear it will scan the barcode using mobile phones with the app, and enter the details.

Data pertaining to the location of the letter box, date and time of clearance, number of letters picked up and postal staff’s employee number will be available online. Residents can track the details through www.appost.in/nanyatha .

R. Anand, Postmaster General, Chennai City Region, said, “The digitisation of clearances has now been extended to all letter boxes in Chennai and its suburbs. Nearly 223 mobile phones are being used for the purpose.”

There are nearly 7,828 letter boxes across Chennai City Region (CCR).

The Department plans to expand the facility to Puducherry and Vellore soon. This move will help increase confidence among people about punctuality of letter box clearance, he said.

Moreover, the postman mobile application that enables postmen to update information about delivery of postal articles has also been made available to all 1,975 postmen on the field across CCR. This will enhance monitoring of delivery of articles.

Postmen can scan the barcode of the article, be it Speed Post, electronic money order or registered letters and parcels, using the device. It will capture details such as delivery time and latitude and longitude of the delivery area and the person to whom it was delivered. Delivery details can also be tracked online on the Department’s website, officials said.