Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Aug. 23: The ‘proper’ delivery service expected from the ubiquitous India Post, also the largest postal network in the world, appears to have gone amiss.
Danii Hiikhani, a Senior Intelligence Officer (SIO) from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (Ministry of Finance) told Eastern Mirror that following his recent transfer to Dimapur from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, he had parcelled around 33 packages via India Post from Tuticorin, out of which only 24 have arrived in Dimapur so far.
Hiikhani and his wife were also shocked to find that most of the packages were already opened and most of their items, worth approximately INR 80,000 were missing. “The packages were stuffed with used clothes, rags and brand new cotton bandages,” informed Hiikhani, while adding that it was to ensure that the weight of the parcels was consistent.
This, he said, made it certain that the operation was carried out by professionals, as a normal person would not be knowledgeable enough to ensure that the parcels match their original weight. “This crime might be taking place anywhere from the place of origin, transit or destination; and there is a loophole,” an aggrieved Hiikhani stated and added that it is the duty of the postal service to get to the bottom of it.
According to the official India Post website, anything can be sent in post parcel except articles whose transmission is prohibited. It can contain single communication to the addressee of the parcel. If the parcel is suspected to contain items other than the permitted ones, it will be opened in the presence of the addressee or his/her authorised agent, and each written communication will be charged on delivery with double the letter postage.
According to the 2018-19 annual report of India Post, a total of 1,54,965 post offices are spread across the country out of which 1,39,067(89.74%) are in rural areas, making it the largest postal network in the world.
The report also states that till December 2017, 18807 Computerised Customer Care Centres (CCCCs) have been established in the post offices, sorting hubs and divisional, regional, circle headquarters across the country for online exchange of information among all the units for speedy redress of public grievances.
The number of complaints received and settled in CCCCs from January 2017 to December 2017 was 17,46,781 and 18,76,382 respectively. In the Northeast, complaints received during 2016-17 were informed to be 35,961.
