Tikrapra: A money order sent from the Tarabha block headquarters in Subarnapur district has more than a year to reach the recipient at Jhinkidunguri panchayat under Saintala block in Bolangir district.
The amount of Rs 400 was handed over May 1 to recipient Dharmendra Muduli. However, people are still talking about the failure of India Post to deliver the amount on time.
Mahendra Tripathy, a resident of Tarabha block headquarters and Dharmendra has been friends for a long time. Dharmendra tied the nuptial knot a year back and had invited Mahendra to attend the ceremony.
However, Mahendra realised he could not attend the marriage ceremony. So he gifted Dharmendra Rs 400 which he sent through money order (MO number-08945552601867010) April 26, 2019. Later, he informed Dharmendra about the gift he had sent.
Dharmendra waited for the gift to arrive. When it did not, he visited the local post office. However, he was informed that no such money order had come. Dharmendra made a couple of more inquiries, but every time he received the same answer.
Then suddenly May 1, he was surprised to get the money. It had taken more than 12 months for the amount to arrive. The postman told him that by ‘mistake’ the amount had not been disbursed.
When contacted, Jhinkidunguri postmaster, Raj Kishore Banka blamed insufficient information for delay. “The address did not have proper details. So the postman who took the money failed to deliver. However, we managed to locate the recipient and have handed over the amount to him,” Banka said. However, he refused to comment on the time frame India Post took locate the recipient.
In spite of the emergence of courier companies and various payment options, rural people still depend on India Post for sending money. However, the incident which happened concerning Mahendra and Dharmendra will certainly be a blotch on the reputation of India Post.
PNN