Postal network will serve all and sundry

By Mohammed NAALIR

Post Master General D.L.P.R. Abeyratne presents the first day cover to Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga issued to mark the 138th World Postal Day. Pic: Dushmantha Mayadunne

The advent of modern technology has culturally, politically and economically tied up the countries with one another. It is time to provide services satisfactorily to customers, only then will an institution or firm sustain in the industry, Postal Services Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga said.

He said, at a time we are celebrating the 138th World Postal Day we should be prepared to face the challenges in the telecommunication sector. The introduction of modern technology,resulting in new services are the only means to attract customers and sustain in the industry.

The Minister said, the Department has a big responsibility in serving the public. The contribution and the tireless efforts of employees from the top to the lower ranks are equally important to achieve the proposed target. The Government has taken all possible measures to improve the postal service, he said.

The Minister said, 21 new services will be introduced to the post offices after the completion of networking, in addition to the prevailing services.

The failure to introduce new services and the emergence of competitive private sector telecommunication service providers have resulted in the decrease of customers. The Postal Department has had no access to technology, due to which the Department faces threats in sustaining in the industry.

The Postal Department experienced a loss of Rs. 2,000 million two years ago and today it has increased to Rs. 3,000 million. The increase of operational cost was one of the reasons, but, the departure of customers from the Post Office due to unavailability of required services is the main reason for this colossal loss.

Ten years ago the daily mail exchange was nearly 2 million, but now it has reduced to less than 500,000, and most of them are for business purposes, according to the Postal Services Ministry.

This Kandyan dancer doing a somersault at the Postal Day celebration

President Mahinda Rajapaksa granted permission to a proposal submitted by Postal Services Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga to introduce modern technology to post offices.

The networking of post offices have already commenced with the help of the Moratuwa University. Under the first phase of the project 640 main post offices will be networked. The entire postal grid will be networked under the second phase.

The Postal Services Ministry and the Postal Department have organised several events to mark the 138th World Postal Day. A national philatelic exhibition consisting stamps from the independent era up to the Postal Day was held from October 6 to 10 at the Postal Headquarters. There were a large number of stalls, including stalls of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Rainbow pages of Sri Lanka Telecom, Independent Philatelic Society and Indian Post.

In addition a bicycle race comprising 600 postmen was held on October 9 under the patronage of the Postal Services Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga, starting from Independence Square to the Postal Services Ministry at D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha. The main focus of the bicycle race was to create awareness among the public and goodwill to the Postal Department.

District and Provincial level sports competitions were held to increase sports skills of the employees of the Postal Department, parallel to the World Postal Day celebrations. The Postal Department employees were given prizes under various categories. The most efficient officer and the best postman were given Rs. 50,000 each.

The main event was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. Schoolchildren who won in competitions under various categories received awards and certificates. The dedicated and efficient employees of the Postal Department were also felicitated and honoured.

The Philatelic Bureau introduced a new service of personalised stamps on the opening day of the Philatelic Exhibition.

A stamp depicting the image of Postal Services Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga was issued on the same day. The stamp was presented to Minister Kumaratunga by the Post Master General D.L.P.R. Abeyratne.

Minister Kumaratunga takes part in a cycle race with postmen.

A collection of stamps issued for Vesak and Christmas celebrations were also presented to Minister Kumaratunga by the Post Master General.

Speaking to the gathering, after opening the Philatelic Exhibition the Minister said, the Government has introduced various programs to develop the Postal Department into a main telecommunication service provider.

"We have taken steps to provide employment to 1,080 youth who are computer literate, so that the new services could be provided to customers easily," Minister Kumaratunga said.

He said, we can't go this journey alone. The support of experienced personnel and the dedication of employees are necessary.

A committee has been set up consisting of intellectuals. The Committee will hold discussions from time to time to discuss future plans and the challenges to be overcome by the Postal Department.

Sri Lanka Independent Philatelic Association Secretary Gamini Silva who had a stall at the Philatelic Exhibition pavilion said, "we plan to promote philately among schoolchildren in the Colombo district under the first phase. Under the second phase this project will be extended to other districts".

He said, plans are afoot to issue 4 philatelic magazines per year. One magazine has been issued and the second will be issued in four months' time.

Meera Handa, Director General (Philately), Ministry of Communication and IT and Chief of the Indian philatelic exhibition stall said, it was a pleasure to participate in the exhibition.

The stamps at the Indian stall consisted of stamps depicting the rich cultural heritages of India, especially stamps depicting the Taj Mahal, forts, flowers, and some recent stamps on Olympics. Stamps with images of Mahatma Gandhi were also exhibited. Altogether there were 100 varieties of stamps. India issues 60 stamps every year, Handa said.

Postal stamps take prominence in the process of sending letters and other documents. Besides being visually attractive stamps have a vast meaning, and facilitate to transmit a postal article from one end of the globe to other, thereby binding people.

Schoolchildren at the philatelic exhibition.

While successfully managing the traditional service, postal services around the world, have gone far ahead to integrate with modern technology, thus enabling millions of customers to have access to the most modern technological facilities at an affordable cost.

The post is present almost everywhere, even in the remotest corners of many countries, as an important point of access to the outer world without any discrimination. Its doors are open to anyone irrespective of race, caste, colour, religion or social standing. The present day post office is more than a place where you go to send or receive a letter or a parcel, it is a place for electronic and financial service. With big challenges facing the international community, the postal sector increasingly devotes itself to bring information within the reach of millions of people who currently lack access to the internet or other communicative technologies.

The world postal network has evolved greatly over the past five years. More than ever before, the activities of postal sectors help to build national economies of underdeveloped and developing countries and reduce poverty in these countries.

The modern services provided by the postal services around the world are made use of, to the maximum by the world population, in different walks of life, especially by migrant workers employed in the Western and Arab world. According to the World Bank statistics migrant workers have transmitted over US$ 182 million in 2010 to Sri Lanka.