Noida’s dakiyas work extra hard for Rakhi: Dispatch and deliver over 8,000 rakhis everyday!

At this time of the year, you usually expect to see long queues outside the trial rooms in shops due to the heavy sales, or perhaps in colleges, with fuchchas lined up to get their Ids and and other college documents made. But surprisingly, we saw long, multiple queues outside the post offices of Noida. From being almost deserted round the year, Noida post offices’ look is completely transformed to an overcrowded one for no other reason but the overflow of cross-border bhai-behen ka pyaar, that’s at its peak around the time of Rakhi.We visited the Head post office in Sector 19 to capture this not-so-common picture and talk to the post office office staff about the sudden increase in their workload during Rakhi season and how they tackle it.
Making special arrangements
Assistant postmaster Chetan told us, “During Rakhi, our work increases every year. To tackle it, we have made some special arrangements and are working overtime to deal with the workload. Ab kya karein, rakhi ka sawaal hai. It is our responsibility also to ensure timely delivery of the rakhis which we receive. These days, the staff comes to office at 6am. We make sure that the postmen leave as early as possible from the office so they can deliver every mail. By the time our day’s work gets over, it is 7-7.30 pm.” Talking about the services, head postmaster, Gaurav Kain, said, “Usually, we receive items for Speed Post only till 2-2.30pm, but for Rakhi, we have extended the services till 5.30 pm, so that no customer is left out.”
Many believe we are late-lateefs
“Currently, we have 38 postmen working in Noida. Our priority is to make sure that no rakhi envelope is left behind. We ensure that every mail is delivered to its destination on the same day. If a postman has to do multiple rounds for delivering every mail, they will do it. Bade saheb ne dekh liya ki kisi postman ne apne area ki rakhi chhod di hai, to usey phir se bulaenge. Isliye, koi chhod kar nahin jaata. Jab kaam kam hota hai, tab ye log mauj karte hain, abhi kaam jyada hai toh karna toh padega,” said Chetan. While postal officials are ensuring delivery on time, postmen gave us a different story. A postman, Suresh*, said, “People have a very low opinion of government employees. They believe that we are late-lateefs. Yesterday, when I went to deliver a rakhi to man, he told me, “Sirji aap toh time par aa gaye. Jab mujhe pata chala ki meri rakhi post se ayegi, toh maine socha ki is saal rakhi khud kharid kar baandh loonga .”
Over 8,000 rakhis are received and delivered daily
Talking about outgoing mails, Manoj Bharadwaj, deputy postmaster said, “Everyday, we receive approximately 1,800 registries and Speed Posts from all the post offices of Noida, and the ordinary rakhi posts are around 2,000. While Speed Post reaches fast, the ordinary ones take 4-5 days. Since the last few days, we’ve had multiple queues from counters inside the office extended till the road in this lane of B block in Sector 19. Adding to it Chetan, said, “We deliver around 2,000 rakhis received from ordinary post, and 400-500 from Speed Post everyday. The duration of delivery depends upon the distance.”
Cancelled leaves, can’t let people down
“For timely delivery of mails, reducing the waiting time and conducting the transactions of various schemes, we need manpower. Other than the regular four counters, we have opened two more counters to deal with rakhi mails. I have passed an order a few days back prohibiting employees from taking leave till Rakshabandhan. For a festival like Rakhi, when everyone turns to us, we can’t let them down,” says Gaurav.
Shayad Sunday ko bhi office aana pade
“Keeping in view the ongoing rush, we might have to work on Sunday also. Usually, we are open on Saturdays, but who knew that this time, we might have to come to office on a Sunday. Agar aadesh aa gaya upar se, toh humein Sunday ko bhi aana padega,” adds Chetan.
No time to eat lunch
To deliver rakhis within the stipulated time frame, the postal department officials are so overworked these days that they hardly get time to eat lunch. “Ab kya karein, mushkil hai, par lunch toh karna hi padega. We somehow manage to eat in between,” says Manoj Bharadwaj, deputy postmaster.
Waterproof envelopes protect rakhis and postmen
Since Rakhi falls during saawan, people are always anxious about rain spoiling their envelopes and rakhis, to which, the postal department has offered a solution. To ensure that the rakhis are not hampered or soaked in the rain, 2-3 years ago, waterproof envelopes were introduced. A postman, Akhil Kumar*, told us, “There have been times when people almost beat me up because their rakhi got spoiled. It’s not our fault. Sometimes, the envelope is not sealed properly, or the rakhi is not of good quality. In such cases, waterproof envelopes save us.”