During the COVID-19 pandemic, sorting hundreds of mails every day that have changed several hands and going door-to-door to deliver parcels in containment areas can be a daunting task. But for Brahamanand Bilwariya, a postman in Bhopal, connecting families split by the lockdown and distributing medicines in time, is a call of duty.
“When I saw our soldiers grappling along the Chinese border on TV recently, away from their homes, I felt lucky to be staying with my family,” said Mr. Bilwariya, 40, a postman for 10 years. “If they can work in such tough conditions, why can’t we?” he wondered.
Donning a khaki uniform and carrying a red sling bag on a motorcycle, Mr. Bilwariya delivers mail every day in Kotra and Naya Basera. The pandemic has altered the rules of engagement. He either drops parcels in a patch of sunlight or at the doorstep. Before confirming receipt, some eagerly inch forward to spray sanitiser on the pen and sheet he carries, that he promptly pulls back. “Well, that’ll drench it,” he said, wearing gloves, a visor covering his face.
Testing kits
The nationwide lockdown from March-end paralysed rail and air networks, hobbling postal services. “We didn’t work in the first week,” said Jitendra Gupta, Chief Postmaster General, Madhya Pradesh circle. But shouldering the responsibility of delivering testing kits, medicines, personal protective equipment and ventilators timely, the India Post placed a north-south, east-west road transport network.
For Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, 170 km from Bhopal, became a sorting hub. “Delivery of essential items including medical equipment and continuing banking services became a priority,” said Mr. Gupta. Whereas, the regular mail saw reduced bookings. From Sagar, both departmental and contractual mail motor services took mail State-wide. If a mail from New Delhi to Bhopal through speed post via flight took two days earlier, now it took three.
Fall in bookings
On a non-festive day before the lockdown, Mr. Bilwariya delivered around 200 mails a day which dropped to 50 after the COVID-19 struck. “Rakhi bookings have come down by half this year,” he said, adding the 10-day lockdown imposed in Bhopal again would dampen festive bookings further.
Around 8 a.m. at the TT Nagar post office here, tens of postmen slit open mail bags and with unusual deftness sort mails area-wise into racks before heading out for delivery at noon. “Mails are transported over thousands of miles, changing hands, but sanitising them could damage articles,” said Krishna Bhoyar, a postman for 40 years, rigorously sanitising hands.
In case of containment areas, said Dayaram Meena who delivers in Balganga, postmen call up recipients, secure the mail at the office which they could collect later or simply return it to the sender. “My family gets worried when I visit a containment area some day,” said Mr. Bilwariya, who reaches home every day by 6 p.m..
Further, people during the pandemic were preferring doorstep banking more, said Harjinder Singh Bhatti, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Bhopal Division. In lockdown months of April and May, transactions through the aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS), which facilitates doorstep transactions through a point of sale (PoS) machine from any aadhaar-linked account, shot by 1,349% over January-March in the division.
304% jump
As for the State, while in February, 54,119 transactions were made through the AePS, by the first 19 days of July itself, 2,18,584 transactions, or a 304% jump, were made. “Mostly the poor, beneficiaries of numerous welfare schemes and relief doled out during the pandemic, are coming forward to use the system,” said Mr. Meena, who carried a PoS machine and cash when out for delivering.
The AePS was initially envisaged for encouraging the opening of India Post Payments Bank accounts. But during the pandemic, with transport crippled, movement restricted and savings drained, it is helping put cash in the hands of people, said postal officials.
“It’s simple. Users put their thumb impression on machines, specify the amount and we give them the cash,” said Mr. Meena. Between transactions, postmen sanitise the machines and hands of users. “Postmen have the trust of people over private bank correspondents. That’s why transactions are increasing,” he added.
