Delivering posts through pandemic

Postal employees put their lives at risk

25/03/2020, SANJANA GANESH,MADURAI

A postman on his way to deliver letters by wearing gloves and masks. G. Moorthy

Postmen from different parts of the city gathered at Gandhi Nagar post office on Tuesday morning for their daily briefing. Here, they were told by a superior officer, “Keep your masks on at all times and wear the gloves. We want to avoid any incidents. Remember that your health comes first,” he said.

The postmen mumbled “yes” and began dispersing to ensure that they collected their delivery for the day.

For postmen and other employees of the postal department, mail delivery has been as usual despite COVID-19. Postmen like S. Murugan* said that they continued to visit banks, houses and commercial establishments as usual on their cycles and bikes.

“The only thing that is different are the ink blue gloves on our hands and the masks on our face,” he said.

Mr. Murugan said that postmen cannot afford to take long leaves during this time because many people’s old age pensions 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, Mr. Murugan said that all postmen were apprehensive and scared.

“We earn meagre incomes and support our small families. With COVID-19 looming over our head, we are scared of venturing into areas where there are reported cases. A colleague who covers around five km of area in Anna Nagar 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.

Echoing Mr. Murugan's concern, South Zone Regional Secretary of the National Federation of Postal Employees, R. Krishnamoorthy, 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 Centre.

“Considering that bus and train services have been stopped, very important mail is not coming to the department. Many other forms of communication have taken precedence. Why should we put the lives of our workers at risk and continue work now?” he asked.

He added that there were at least 600 postmen in the city and the rural areas were working and making themselves susceptible to the virus.

Even employees in the department did not have any major work.

“We can certainly attend to it in case of emergency and can make ourselves available at our offices,” he said.

At the moment, employees at Tallakulam, Arasaradi and West Veli Street have asked employees to place sanitisers on their tables, wear disposable gloves and masks on their face. In Tallakulakam, they even have tied neem leaves inside their offices to ensure they can prevent COVID-19. An official from the post office on Collector Office Road says that the Centre must swiftly take steps to ensure that no major local transmission takes place through postal employees as they are vulnerable.

“When the railways department has shut shop, they should think of us too,” he says.

(*Name has been changed on request)