The closure of the current sub post office in Pudur near Vaniyambadi town, Tirupattur, faces strong opposition from residents. This facility has long served as a convenient hub for account holders, who are mostly senior citizens and women. Opened in the early 1970s, the sub post office serves around 15,000 residents of Pudur.
As part of India Post’s plan, the sub post office in Pudur is to be merged with a larger post office in the Vaniyambadi town, approximately three kilometres away, in the coming weeks. Consequently, postal officials have shuttered the existing facility in the area. “The sub post office has helped many poor families and farmers to save their hard earned incomes in savings accounts for many years. The closure of this facility will compel them to travel longer distances to access the same services,” remarked M.P. Shanmugam, a long-time resident.
Officials of the India Post said, according to norms sub post offices should be situated within a distance of two kilometres in urban areas and three kilometres in rural areas. However, due to an abundance of sub post offices within these specified distances, many are being merged with larger ones.
The merger of sub post offices is also due to poor revenue generation, particularly in parcel services and postal savings. “We have annual revenue generation targets to meet. Sub post offices with low revenue must be merged to streamline expenses. Such mergers are being carried out in other areas as well within the district,” explained M. Madeshwaran, Superintendent of Post Offices in Tirupattur, to The Hindu.
