Coronavirus outbreak: Even in crisis, the postman always delivers

The lockdown seems to have brought out the good side of many Staffers of the Indian postal department have gone out of their way to ensure that elderly get their pension senior citizens can withdraw postal savings the differentlyabled get their stipend and hospitals get their medicals kits Some have even contributed to ensure food for the poorMIDDAY spoke to some of these heroes in Navi Mumbai Postal Region which has 1514 post offices in Thane Palghar Nashik Malegaon Navi Mumbai and Raigad districtsMy dedicated team is working relentlessly to provide essential services to citizens They are instructed to follow safety rules like using masks sanitisers and physical distancing said Shobha Madhale postmaster general Navi Mumbai RegionShobha Madhale postmaster general Navi MumbaiMadhale added ldquoWhen we learnt that no public transport was available from March 23 we quickly came up with a plan Directives were issued to postal officials at district levels to ensure that adequate cash was made available at post offices and a postal assistant to visit senior citizens the differentlyabled or pensioners at their homes and hand over cashrdquo she saidAlso directives were issued to ensure that all postal ATMs had cash daily and that delivery of essential items medicines kits and medical instruments were given prioritySurprised by kindnessKedare Jayram 76 pensioner from NashikldquoMy father retired as a jamadhar senior peon at the Niphad post office Nashik Ours is a joint family and it is his monthly pension of R12000 that is a major source of income for the family even todayrdquo said his elder son Manoj who works with a gas agency at a monthly salary of R7500 During the lockdown we were worried about our father going to the post office for his pension ldquoI was surprised by the kindness of the postal department who sent a postal assistant home with my pensionrdquo said Kedare JayramKedare Jayram receives his pension from postal assistant Pradip BhandwalkarHeroPradip Bhandwalkar 32 postal assistant Niphad Post OfficeldquoThe last day of the month pensioners usually get their money in their postal savings account I visited the pensionersrsquo homes with a withdrawal slip taking all directed precautions I took their signature on the slip returned to the post office a few kilometres away and came back with their money Would he continue this after lockdown ldquoI would love to It gives me pleasure and satisfactionrdquo Bhandwalkar saidSushilatai thrilledSushila Patil 90 Rayande Chari AlibaugShe is blind and is bedbound most of the time Her sons live outside Alibaug and her daughter takes care of her She was happy to get R8300 which was sent in two money orders from the treasury departmentMehraj Ausekar with Sushila Patil at her homeHeroMehraj Ausekar 51 a postman at Poynad post office in AlibaugHe said ldquoI visited Sushila two days ago and saw that she is too weak and old She gave her thumb impression on the receipt of the money order paymentrdquo said Ausekar ldquoI will continue to visit Sushila with her money orders I get satisfaction in doing something for senior citizensrdquo he addedBoss hits the groundVitthal Hatankar 96 pensioner Brahmin Ali AlibaugldquoMy father was the postmaster at Alibaug post office and retired in 1984 Since the lockdown I too was unable to collect his pensionrdquo said Abhay Hatankar 55 the son ldquoWe were surprised and happy to see postmaster general Anuradha Penkar herself coming home to hand over the pensionrdquo said Hatankar seniorVitthal Hatankar with the postmaster of Alibaug post officeHeroAnuradha Penkar 60 is due to retire in OctoberldquoWe have around 68 senior citizens staying in and around Alibaug We went to all their houses and gave them their pensionsrdquo said Anuradha ldquoI also visited two of them staying 10 km away in Awas They were all surprised and pleasedrdquo she saidGrateful to donorsKesav Satpute 32 pharmacy officer Tembha Hospital Bhayandar WestldquoI was on duty on April 17 when the staff of Bhayander post office visited the hospital with five cartons from Dr Pratik Jain of Delhi who has donated 100 PPE kits for our staffrdquo Kesav said adding ldquoWe have about 100 COVID patients and apart from regular supply of PPE kits and medicines from MiraBhayander municipality we are grateful to donors like Dr Jain for these PPE kits Due to the lockdown the postal team themselves had got the parcel in their tempo and we were touched by their wonderful gesturerdquoStaff from Bhayandar post office with the PPE kits that they delivered to Tembha hospitalHeroSubhas Churi 60 postal department stafferldquoI usually do sorting and packing work at the Bhayander post office but due to the lockdown I decided to deliver parcels received from Mumbai airport cargo at the earliestrdquo said Churi When asked if he knew he was entering a COVID dedicated hospital Churi said ldquoI am told that those who fear COVID are prone to get infected and therefore I keep my fear at bay I know I am serving those who are treating the most vulnerable patientsrdquoThe numbersCollection and delivery of payments by Navi Mumbai Region 1514 posts offices from March 23 to April 30No articles booked ndash 4572No of articles delivered ndash 16333Savings Bank Payments ndash 118893 Withdrawals ndash Rs 22875 croreMoney Orders Paid 2064 Amount Rs 4267913Aadhar enabled payment system AePS ndash No of transactions 22116 Amount paid ndash Rs 51329520Personal contribution by postal staff in Navi Mumbai region Rs 216000Info courtesy PMG Navi Mumbai regionPostal staff cooks for needyNearly 1180 packets were distributed by Palghar postal division to migrants and daily wagers and their children on April 4 and April 20 at Pelhar village Vasai Mahim Manor highway and other places in Palghar The money came from contribution by staffersCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the 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