Hamstrung by a staff shortage, the Postal Department will appoint around 900 postmen and couriers in the next four months for better service, its chief says.
"The appointments will expedite the delivery of letters and parcels," Mobashsherur Rahman, director of the Postal Department, told us.
The establishment ministry approved the appointments last month, he added.
The department receives and delivers around 15 to 16 crore letters every year or over one crore a month.
The department is in dire need to fill up the vacant posts as a lack of manpower is seriously hampering mail delivery, sources at the department said.
Only 150 staffers are currently working in Dhaka where 35 posts are vacant and another 50 people are needed.
The department failed many government organisations, banks and financial institutions that wanted it to deliver their letters, Rahman said.
In one instance, he said, a deal was sealed with Titas Gas to deliver 3,50,000 letters and they wanted to give more, but the department could not accept the proposals for a lack of staffers.
Rahman said more areas would be covered under 'Guaranteed Express Post', with the service being available at 223 post offices from Bengali New Year's Day. Now 169 post offices offer the service.
There are 9,889 post offices in the country including four general post offices and 66 district post outlets. The Upazilas also have post offices.
Non-paid staffers run a further 8200 departmental post offices at villages for an honorarium of Tk 720 to 750 a month.
Subject: 900 new postmen soon................ 
Sun Apr 05, 2009 4:37 pm
