Thiruvananthapuram: The
postal department is trying its best to pull through one of the worst crises following the floods. As many as 99
post offices were completely submerged across 12 districts in the state, and 274 offices out of the 5,065 were affected, majority being branch offices.
More than 300 post offices are yet to be made functional. Officials said that 92 offices continued to remain inaccessible in the state.
In Kuttanad, where a major percentage of population had to be evacuated, more than three post offices were completely submerged.
Kerala postal circle, which commands 25% of delivery bookings for e-commerce in the country, has suffered a dip for the first time. The closure of Kochi airport made matters worse as a major share of cargo under e-commerce centred around Kochi airport from where it was delivered to various points by postal department. Lakshadweep, which solely depends on Kerala postal circle for delivery of e-commerce goods has also been hit with the closure of Kochi airport.
The postal department had emerged as a major player in delivery of e-commerce goods in the state in the past two years owing to its unparalleled connectivity. “All delivery bookings are now put on hold. Our weekly delivery percentage of e-commerce goods was 25% but it has now dipped to 18% in the past one week. Approximately 4,000 articles used to be delivered in a normal working day and the number has been reduced with
flood affecting our operations in various districts,'' a postal department official said.
While the post offices are returning to work mode, delivery of passports is likely to be the major challenge as many residents are either in relief camps or have moved to relatives' houses. In such cases, the department is forced to return passports.
As flood warnings surfaced, the officials had communicated to the customers about possible delay in delivery before booking of speed posts. The actual impact assessment by civil wing of post office began on Friday. The officials are also looking at cash chests in offices, in which a minimum cash would be kept, and are checking whether it has been lost in floods.
The introduction of core banking solutions will help the department retrieve all major documents in offices which have been flooded. “We are doing our best to get on with our business. Our digital solutions have enabled us to preserve the essential documents. Our staff has also been at the receiving end in some districts due to floods. Some of their houses have been damaged or submerged,” an official said.
