Srinagar, Apr 18: Responding to public outcry over the dilapidated  condition of the floating Post Office in the tourist hub of Dal lake,  the authorities many times assured repairs of the houseboat but forgot the implementation every time.

THE PUBLIC INITIATIVE
 Some four years back, Nazir Ahmed a retired IAS official who lives in Gagribal had taken an initiative to  apprize the then Chief Post Master General (CPMG), JK Circle about the plight of the Post Office in the houseboat.
 Ahmed is understood to have appealed the official to get the houseboat repaired as it was “first impression of services in the tourist hub”.
 The retired official shot several letters to the concerned and finally in 2007 he got a reply from the CPMG that the repairs would be made soon.
 “The receipt of letter No Nil Dt 16.03.2007 is hereby acknowledged… SSPO Srinagar has been directed to get the necessary repairs of the houseboat housing post office carried out on priority basis,” reads the copy of letter pitched by the then CPMG DK Budki on April 4, 2007.
 “Four years on, the repairs are awaited,” says Ahmed while pointing towards the broken staircases which lead to this post office in a shanty houseboat anchored on the banks of the famed lake.

THE LATEST
 In February 2011, the new CPMG, John Sameul soon after assuming the charge, visited the Post Office and observed that the facility was in shambles.
 Sameul is understood to have directed the concerned officials to undertake the repairs on priority basis.
 “But till now, no ground work has been done for the repairs of this heritage structure,” admit the Post Office officials.

THE PLIGHT
 Leave apart the staircases, nothing in the houseboat seems to be in order. The ceiling leaks during rains while the houseboat base too has developed cracks due to which the water seepage has become a recurring problem.
 For now, the houseboat needs regular dewatering or else it’s feared to sink.
 In fact, insiders said, some years back the houseboat had capsized and had to be fished out from the waters again.
 On the other hand there’s no proper inquiry system in the Post Office as mere two officials: the Post Master Suman Raina and his colleague Muhammad Shaban Bhat run the entire show.

NO POSTMAN
 Ironically the Post Office has no postman. Official sources revealed that the Post Office was without a post man for many years.
 “We don’t distribute but only receive the letters bound for within and outside the state and abroad. Still this office is thronged by lake dwellers and tourists,” they said.

THE IRONY
 Under the hi-tech revamp of the Post Offices in the state, the shanty structure is expected to get computerized soon.
 If the sources are to be believed, the Post Master has already received an intimation that the computers would soon be installed there.
 But given the shanty condition of the houseboat, observers opine that the computerization would be a “crude joke in such inhuman conditions.”
 “Till now water leakage from the ceiling was damaging the mails and stationery, but once computers will be in place, it may lead to an explosion or electric shock due to water droplets which may fall on the electronic circuitry,” said a techie working at General Post Office.
 When contacted a senior official said the CPMG plans to get the houseboat repaired.
 “There’s some problem with the funding, once it gets available we’ll start the repairs,” he said.
 Pertinently, people associated with the tourism have been complaining that the bad condition of the Post Office in the tourist hub was bringing a bad name to the industry.
 Despite repeated attempts the CPMG couldn’t be contacted for comment.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 IST