Kundohit (Jamtara), July 7: Mohan Lal Verma, Village: Bagdeheri, District: Jamtara (Jharkhand). That is the home address of the Jamtara-based lawyer. But the catch is that no letter will reach him in this address. But they will be delivered, if the address given is Post Office: Kharaisol; District: Birbhum (West Bengal).
The failure of the postal department to change the centuries-old system has led to this piquant situation under which letters and money orders are delivered in the bordering areas of Jharkhand by post offices in West Bengal. But the arrangement has been going on since British times in pre-independence days and since Kharaisol is just seven kilometres away from Bagdeheri, what is the fuss all about?
The confusion often lead to complications, discovered Sita Hansdak, for example. The money order from her husband failed to reach her one month though he had sent it to the usual address. It took the lady five months to retrieve the amount, which had been misplaced and was doing the rounds of various post offices in West Bengal. ?I had to walk long distances, visit different post offices and spend more than half the amount on my travel, before I could finally lay my hands on the money,? recalls the lady.
Kundohit is the block headquarters and Bagdeheri is 20 kilometres away, close to the West Bengal border. It has a population of over 5,000 people though comprising members of tribes and backward communities and it is completely deprived of basic civic amenities. For health services and primary education, they depend on Amba village, six kilometres away, while for postal services, it is Kharaisol in West Bengal.
The district headquarters is around 80 kilometres away and there is a solitary bus that leaves for Jamtara in the morning. ?It takes us almost one full day to reach the district headquarters,? said Sushil Hembrom.
Mohan Lal Verma, a lawyer at Jamtara court, agrees. ?It is because of the poor public transport that I am forced to maintain two establishments and live in Jamtara,? he complains.
The outspoken people at Bagdeheri wonder aloud why a post office cannot be set up in the village and why nobody in the Jharkhand government has taken the initiative of persuading the Centre to do so. They also wonder why their plight has not changed even after the creation of Jharkhand. Letters, they point out, must carry the name of Khairasol (West Bengal), if they are to be delivered to them. Ironically, no letter carrying the actual name of the village, Bagdeheri, is ever delivered.
Postal services are still important in these remote areas. People depend on such services to remit money, telegrams, letters and even for postal savings accounts, they point out.
