Tamil Nadu: For 9 years, he trekked through forests to deliver letters

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Hard work ‘pays’ in the long run, a retired postmaster from the Nilgiris has learnt.
The postman, D Sivan, came into limelight after a TN-cadre IAS officer, Supriya Sahu, posted about his daily travails of delivering mail in the uneven terrain of the Nilgiris on social media. Inspired by Sivan’s story, Rajeev Chandrasekar, Rajya Sabha MP, wrote to the postman appreciating his service and donated Rs 1 lakh as a token of goodwill.
Rajeev, in his letter to Sivan, said, ‘I am sure that your dedication and commitment will no doubt inspire many generations of public service”.
A resident of Vannarapettai in Coonoor, Sivan, now 65, joined the postal department in 1985 as a stamp vendor in Coonoor, and was later transferred to Hillgrove post office as Gramin Dak Sevak Mail Deliverer (GDSMD) in 2011. As GDSMD till his retirement, the proud postman walked tirelessly around 15 km daily through hilly terrain along the Nilgiri Mountain Track through Karumbalam, Vadugar Thottam, Singara, Kilsingara and Marapalam delivering mail and money orders for tribal community and estate workers.
“There is no other way except the forest route to reach those places. I delivered not only letters and money orders, but also rendered service as a collector for their bank accounts. After depositing the money at the post office, their passbooks duly entered would be delivered to them the following day,” said Sivan.
There were incidents when Sivan was chased by wild elephants, Indian gaurs, snakes and sloth bears. “After years of experience, I was well versed with locations where animals congregate. I avoided those stretches,” he said.
Sivan also used to deliver mail bags to the Lower Singara post office and collect mailbags from there to Hillgrove.
“Sometime, people would ask me to deliver their letters or money order at locations convenient for them when they were not available at their homes. I would not mind obliging them,” said the good Samaritan.
Asked about Rajeev Chandrasekar’s letter and money, Sivan said, “Yes I received a message from him. I provided my bank account number to him. I am yet to check my account.”