SINDHUPALCHOWK, Nov 10: Not so long ago Bachchu Singh Khadka, in-charge of Sindhupalchowk District Post Office, used to be overburdened with office chores, so much so that he hardly had time for a cup of tea. But nowadays he is undergoing a period of enforced idleness.
“Oh! I have nothing to do,” says Khadka, yawning from ear to ear. “Very few people come here to post their letters these days.”
To kill the boredom, he frequently goes to the canteen to sip tea.
Four years ago, hundreds of people would queue up every day at the district post office to post their letters and Khadka worked assiduously to ensure that the letters were duly stamped and despatched. But on Tuesday, only a handful people were there, thanks to the advent of electronic mail and other means of communication which are steadily replacing traditional snail mail.
The prospects for electronic mail have looked even rosier with the end of the Maoist insurgency, the mending of telephone towers and installation of newer forms of wireless communication in the district.
Nepal Telecom (NT) has made its services accessible in all the villages of Sindhupalchowk district. "Today, people get to talk to relatives working abroad while sitting in their own homes," Khadka said, adding, "Why would they dispatch letters through the post when they can talk on the phone right from home?"
District Post Office Sindhupalchowk has units in 78 places and a staff of 228 across the district. However, one unit receives hardly five letters in a month. "Even at our main office at district headquarters, we receive hardly 20 letters a month," Khadka said.
The Department of Postal Services (DoPS) had put up a new building for Sindhupalchowk District Post Office at Chautara at a cost of Rs 10 million. However, the office is of little use. A majority of the staff remain absent.
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