The sight of Ashwini Balaraman, 25, a Gramin Dak Sevak or postal extra-departmental employee, brings joy to the villagers of Chinnapallikuppam in Vellore district.
Despite the pandemic, she pedals to villages and delivers letters and helps Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers withdraw money through the Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). She and other Dak Sevaks also sensitise the villagers on the need for wearing masks and physical distancing. There are 236 such Gramin Dak Sevaks working in the Vellore division. Twenty-three of them are women working in rural areas, including Vannanthangal, Chinnapallikuppam, Appukal, Unai Vaniyambadi, Chitteri and Palamathi.
“We work for five hours every day. Work starts with collection of letters from the sub-post office. After the letters are sorted, I cycle to villages and deliver them. I cycle close to 20 km every day,” says Ms. Ashwini.
The Gramin Dak Sevaks carry close to ₹15,000 with them to help MGNREGA workers withdraw money. “Due to COVID-19 and the lack of transport, many are unable to go to banks or post-offices to collect money. I carry an AEPS device and help them withdraw cash. They inform me of the need for money in advance,” says J. Savitha, 24, a Gramin Dak Sevak at Ongapadi, Vellore. She covers six villages.
Whenever they go for delivering letters or helping villagers withdraw money, they highlight the importance of wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining physical distancing. “They have to use the fingerprint on the machine. So I ensure that they sanitise their hands before doing it and explain about its importance,” she adds.
Komal Kumar, Superintendent of Post Offices, Vellore, said the Gramin Dak Sevaks were self-motivated. “Their pay is minimum as they are required to work only five hours. But they work more to serve and help the people,” he says.
R. Udayapriya, Inspector of Posts, Vellore West Sub-division, said, the AEPS was introduced nearly a year ago. “The people have been able to make use of the AEPS fully during the pandemic.”
The Gramin Dak Sevaks say that though they are concerned about their own safety, they keep doing their job. “We take precautions. But if we don’t reach out to the people, they will struggle to withdraw money. Our biggest reward is when elderly people thank us after withdrawing money,” says Ms. Savitha.