Rabindranath Tagore’s Dakghar (The Post Office) features Amal, who dreams of growing up to become the king’s postman because he finds that job fascinating.

On the other hand, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s postman Dinu in Dak Harkara (The Postal Runner) tirelessly delivers the government’s mails and personal letters fearing that thousands might suffer if he stopped even for a minute. Yet, along with that fear, he also feels a sense of pride.

Nowadays, postmen’s job neither seems fascinating nor do they need to run with spears and lanterns in hand as the way of their work has changed. However, their workload hasn’t shrunk despite people’s increasing dependence on electronic devices and courier services.

Matiur Rahman, a postman of Mirpur Post Office, has been involved in this job for over 30 years. Asked about the pressure of work, he said, “Postmen have a fixed time to enter the office, but there’s no set time to return home. Though we report at 8am every morning, we can’t leave before 6 or 7pm.

“We have a serious shortage of manpower but the workload is as heavy as ever. People think the number of letters has decreased, but just look around—you’ll see hundreds of letters piled up on every table.”

Change in types of letters

Abul Kalam Azad, a packer of Agargaon Sub Post Office who has been working for the last 9 years, said the number of personal letters has dropped significantly as people share their thoughts through mobile phones and social media.

“Postmen now distribute government and private official letters and case documents, bills or letters of divorce or notices. Many invitation cards of different government and family functions are also posted,” he told the Daily Sun.

Income drops, not the sincerity

Veteran postmen of Kishoreganj’s Kuliarchar Post Office, Kailash Chandra Sarker, said their earnings have decreased a lot in the recent days.

“Earlier, postmen like us were in great demand. People eagerly waited for their letters to arrive. They treated us with the same warmth and care as their relatives. But now, everything has changed. Everything can be done with just a tap on a mobile phone. Still, a few people write letters for the love of it. Apart from that, most of the mail nowadays comes from offices, courts, or billing departments.”

“I still remember earning up to Tk10,000-15,000 a month just in tips. Whenever we delivered an appointment letter or money order from a loved one, people never let us leave empty-handed. Now most letters convey negative things. People now hardly offer tips as they don’t get good news from us,” he added.

In most cases, postmen still work sincerely so that people don’t miss any important documents or letters due to their negligence.

Yunus Ali, a young postman of Naogaon’s Raninagar Post Office, began working as a postman three years ago through outsourcing. He said there are only two postmen to cover the whole upazila but they work dawn to dusk to deliver letters in time.

He said, “For some people, this paper letter is as important as an official document. Because of a single letter, countless tasks can be delayed. For some, life-and-death matters can depend on it. That’s why we try to work with great responsibility.”

Life seems tough for them

Over the past few decades, just as the country’s population has increased, so has the number of houses. Single-story houses have gradually been replaced by multi-storied ones. Joint families have split into nuclear families, and even within the same house, residents now have multiple addresses. As a result, the number of letter destinations has multiplied. In delivering to these destinations, postmen often face great difficulty.

Wearing khaki dresses in the hot season makes postmen’s work difficult and they don’t get cycles from the government as well. However, the Directorate of Posts has recently started distributing e-bikes to the postmen on a limited scale in the capital.

According to information provided by the Directorate of Posts, there are currently a total of 9,974 post offices across the country. Although there are 3,355 sanctioned posts for postmen under the government’s revenue sector, only 2,143 are currently employed in these positions.

Additionally, there are 7,253 Extra-Departmental Delivery Agents (EDDAs) working across the country. Apart from these, 289 postmen have been temporarily appointed through outsourcing.

In total, around 9,685 postmen are currently working nationwide, but this number is still insufficient to meet the existing demand.

The minimum educational qualification for postmen recruited under the government’s revenue sector is SSC. The pay scale for this 17th-grade position currently ranges from Tk9,000 to Tk21,800. However, EDDAs working in rural areas earn a maximum salary of around Tk4,500.

Be it in urban or rural areas, this is nowhere near the average living cost of a family, several postmen, claiming anonymity, told this correspondent.

Speaking about the current responsibilities of postmen and the government’s plan regarding them, Al Mahbub, director (planning) at the Directorate of Posts, said, “Beyond delivering letters, new opportunities are emerging for postmen with the rise of online businesses. The postal department can become one of the most reliable channels for online parcel delivery, and we are moving forward with that plan.”

“Over the past few years, the global expansion of e-commerce has prompted countries everywhere to reimagine the role of postmen. The more technology advances, the greater the demand for postmen will become,” he added.

The reporter can be reached at [email protected]

Edited by Mohammad Mamunur Rashid