A postman travels 106 km on his cycle everyday to continue his emergency duty due to lockdown

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 3 APRIL: With the Covid-19 is continuing to spread; the postmen have no respite from doing their jobs whatever the situation arises as it is being treated as emergency services.

So, a postman, Biswanath Das, is cycling 106 kilometers everyday to keep his duty running when the nationwide lockdown to snap the chain transmission of coronavirus has kept the public transport system stopped.

Das, who lives at Mirabazar in Plassey in Nadia and has to report for duty 53 kilometers away from Krishnagar Head Post Office, is a daily wager.

Since all means of public transportation including trains and buses have been suspended, he has no option rather than to take his bicycle to reach his office at Krishnagar Head Post Office.

Das, a 51-year-old man, said that postmen cannot afford to take long leaves during this time because many people’s ration cards and money orders continue to be delivered by post.

When asked if it is concerning to work on the frontlines and meet people day to day, Das said that all postmen were apprehensive and scared.

“We earn meager incomes and support our families. With Covid-19 looming over our head with its ugly face, we are scared of venturing into areas where there are reported cases. A colleague who covers around five kilometers of area says that he is concerned whether there may have been some transmission of the virus to him. We can never know about these things and only take precautions”, he said.

Das also said, “I always keep hand sanitiser in my bag when I go to deliver mails. I normally knock on the door and when anyone responds, I keep the mail on the ground in front of the door. The recipient then collects the mail. By this way, I can avoid any transmission. For the money orders, I first santise my hand and then I also put some drops of my sanitiser to the recipient’s hands. Following these, I then hand over money to the recipient who consequently put a signature on our papers”.

According to Das, there are five daily wagers who come from far places from Krishnagar Head Post Office. Two postmen come from Chapra which is around 15 kilometers from Krishnagar and one from Bethuadahari which is around 30 kilometers from Krishnagar. They also use either their cycles or motorcycles to reach the headquarters, Das said.

Echoing Das’s concern, a postal union leader said that expecting mail to be delivered during these dire times and expecting postal offices to be filled up was a concerning move by the Center.

“The permanent staff, who are also postmen and reside at far places from the headquarters have been posted at their nearest local post offices after considering the inconvenience of the lockdown while those postmen living at far places like Das and working as daily wagers have been forced to do their jobs from the headquarters. This should not be happened”, he alleged.