Postal Worker Day: Let us thank these lesser-acknowledged corona warriors

July 1 marks the birth and death anniversary of Dr BC Roy and India widely observes the days as the National Doctors' Day. The day is also celebrated as National Postal Worker Day. As the name suggests, the day is reserved for showing our gratitude towards the person who delivers postal services. 

The Postal Worker Day has its roots from Seattle, USA. In 1997, a renowned postal service provider-initiated this particular day. The objective of initiating this day was to felicitate and honour the postal workers for their tireless job. A postal worker is responsible for offices for delivering the mails, loading and unloading mail trucks and more.

Talking about Indian postal service it is the most widely distributed postal system around the globe with over 1.5 lakh post offices. Postal workers across the country without bearing any climatic condition carrying a full load of letters and packages, deliver to the people at their doorstep. 

This year, postal workers have yet again proved why they are the unsung heroes. The coronavirus lockdown was imposed amid the rising number of cases. When people were inside homes, like other frontline workers, postal workers were on the ground to deliver the letters and parcels despite the pandemic.

According to reports, four lakh postal department employees worked tirelessly to deliver the essential service when regular flights and rail train services were halted.

Our postal system is making about 2 lakh cash deliveries a day to doorsteps of the customers, around ten times the number before the coronavirus lockdown.

Not only delivering the letters or parcels, but the postal workers were also deployed for the special measures amid the COVID19 outbreak. Postal workers in the expanding service ferried parcels, exam answer papers, fruits, PPE kits, COVID test kits and even the ventilators.

"The technology is evolving, and the world has moved on from the physical letters; thus, these days, the new generation doesn't recognise us. We all are doing the work which we are doing from years," a postal worker on a condition of anonymity said.

"We stand together and understand the people's difficulties during the lockdown. Postal service is an essential service; my family is worried whenever I am on duty because of the spread of the contagion, but the self-determination never lets me down. With proper care, I am doing my service," he added.

In scorching heat or extreme rains, in sleet or blizzards, they deliver, its time to appreciate their work.