KENDRAPARA: There is a glaring disparity between post offices in the urban and rural hinterlands of Kendrapara. While a visit to the former, with well adorned interiors is a pleasure, its rural cousins are embodiments of administrative neglect.Sample the post office at Kusuipala village under Derabishi block here. Battered by the incessant rains of late, the building is on the verge of collapse. While the post office lacks even an ‘almirah’ for safekeeping the money, one can find nothing but a broken table and two wooden benches for furniture. This apart, rainwater seeps through the dilapidated walls and roof when it drizzles. Similar situation prevails elsewhere as Kishor Barik, a local, complained about the dismal condition of a post office at Kantia village. “The Extra Department Branch Post Office (EDBPO) with over 500 clients has not been whitewashed even once during the last 20 years,” Barik said, adding the mud walls may collapse anytime, courtesy lack of maintenance. The post office in Purusottampur, that functions from post master Sridhar Sahoo’s house has its own story to narrate. While one of the two fans is out of order, the visibly bare room sports two chairs and an equal number of tables. No furniture has been purchased since 2005, regrets the post master. Incidentally, the sorry state of affairs plagues a majority of the 268 rural post offices in the district. General secretary of the District Unit of Extra Department Branch Post Office Employees Association Nirmal Singh said people of the rural areas face hardships due to lack of facilities at the post offices. Assistant Superintendent of the local post office, Radhakanta Pradhan, said many of the 268 rural post offices are reeling from the dismal infrastructure. While many EDBPOs function from the houses of respective post masters, some function from local gram panchayats and school premises. “The authority spares a mere ` 100 a month for the maintenance of each rural post office,” he said.
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