Now Reading: Floods strand Rakhi deliveries at Odisha post offices
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Floods strand Rakhi deliveries at Odisha post offices
Heavy rain and flooding have disrupted postal services across Odisha's Kendrapara and Jajpur districts ahead of Raksha Bandhan, leaving thousands of Rakhis undelivered at post offices. Pattamundai Head Post Office in Kendrapara…
Heavy rain and flooding have disrupted postal services across Odisha's Kendrapara and Jajpur districts ahead of Raksha Bandhan, leaving thousands of Rakhis undelivered at post offices. Pattamundai Head Post Office in Kendrapara and Kalamatia post office in Bari have seen mail, including speed post items, stranded for nearly two weeks. Floodwaters from the Brahmani River have submerged roads, cutting off rural areas and preventing postal workers from making deliveries.
Postal employees are now calling recipients to collect mail from post offices, but many cannot travel through floodwaters. Crocodiles and snakes in waterlogged areas have added to the risks for postmen. Fourteen panchayats and eight municipal wards in Pattamundai block remain under water. Assistant superintendent of Kendrapara postal sub-division Debashis Satapathy said postmen are making every effort to deliver Rakhis on time. Rainfall has eased and river levels are receding, but the festival falls on the next day.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Odisha's postal network relies heavily on rural postmen who walk or cycle through village roads, and the Brahmani River basin in Kendrapara and Jajpur is among the state's most flood-prone regions. In August 2023, the same area saw over 50,000 people displaced when the river breached embankments. For recipients, a delay in receiving court orders or government letters can mean missed hearings or lapsed benefit deadlines. The postal department typically extends delivery deadlines during disasters, but there is no formal flood-compensation mechanism for senders of speed-post or registered items. The coming dry-weather window over the next 48 hours will decide whether the backlog clears before Rakhi Purnima ends.
Source: odishatv.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
