This 'lazy' postman didn't deliver 6,000 letters
What's the story
In a clear case of neglecting one's duty, a postmaster in an Odisha village didn't deliver more than 6,000 letters dating back to even 2004, because apparently he "could not walk properly and was not in a condition to deliver these letters."
Many letters contained admit cards of exams and many were addressed to BJD MP Arjun Charan Sethi.
He remains suspended since yesterday.
Reason
He started getting lazy when his responsibilities increased
Jagannath Puhan, who started working for the department in 1979 as delivery agent, got his first posting in the branch post office of the Odhanga village in Bhadrak district.
He remained there till yesterday.
From 2004-2014, and again in 2016-17, he had to double up as branch postmaster, when the regular postmaster either retired or was transferred out.
It was then he got lazy.
Condition
'More than half of 6,000 letters termite-infested, cannot be delivered'
Sarbeswar Mishra, superintendent, Bhadrak postal circle, confirmed Puhan's suspension citing 'dereliction of duty and breach of trust'.
He said, "Further action, including dismissal, would be taken after inquiry."
He added, 1,500 letters could be salvaged in the past two days, "But more than half of 6,000 letters that Puhan didn't deliver have either turned soggy or eaten by termites and cannot be delivered."
Details
Undelivered mails discovered by children playing in premises
The undelivered mails, some containing ATM cards and bank passbooks, were found recently by a bunch of children, who were playing in the abandoned school building from where the post office operated, before it got shifted.
They informed their parents, who called in the authorities.
While the postal department quickly jumped into action, angry villagers gathered at the post office searching for their letters.
Lazy but smart?
Puhan delivered those letters for which record was maintained
Meanwhile, a senior postal department official said Puhan might be lazy but was smart enough to know which mails to deliver.
"While he delivered registered letters, money orders, speed posts and Aadhaar cards, for which record has to be maintained, he seems to have chucked ordinary letters," he said, adding no villager complained, so they had no inkling of what's going on.