Doing its job silently in this hour of crisis is India Post. From delivering critical medicines, Covid-19 testing kits and ventilators to various locations in a matter of hours, India Post is on a mission to deliver essential items amid the lockdown.

On Tuesday, for instance, it delivered Mylab’s Covid-19 testing kits from Pune to AIIMS-Nagpur and the National Environment Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, in just 12 hours. These kits were also delivered, in 15 hours, at three locations in Bengaluru recently — TSAR labs, Kothari Distributors and Manipal Hospital.

Pune-based Mylab was the first Indian firm to develop a real-time PCR-based molecular diagnostic kit that can screen people with flu-like symptoms, based on nasal and throat swabs.

Priority delivery

“The delivery of medicines and medical equipments including Covid-19 testing kits is being given priority,” Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, Secretary, India Post, told BusinessLine . “We have made special mail arrangements to ensure timely delivery. Medicines are also being delivered through cold-chain. In fact, deliveries are being done even at night and on holidays.”

The geography seems immaterial. Medicines and equipments are delivered to places such as Una in Himachal Pradesh and the North-Eastern Hill University in Meghalaya. Ventilators are taken from Puducherry to Odisha and Gujarat, cold-chain movement is effected from Delhi to Lucknow, he said.

“We are also trying to enable cash withdrawals, opening of accounts, direct benefit transfer and pension payments at the doorsteps of the customers through the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS), particularly to aged, disabled and disadvantaged beneficiaries,” Bisoi added

Since March 24, the Department of Posts has leveraged its vast network of 1.56 lakh-plus post offices and 4 lakh-plus employees on ground to provide the delivery of essential services to the citizens at their doorsteps in the remotest corners of the country, said Bisoi.

The Department has also used air cargo flights to despatch mails to the nearest metro or big towns and thereafter used its own fleet of vans as well as hired vehicles to reach shipments to various destinations within the State or to the neighbouring ones.

More than 100 tonnes of medicines and medical equipment are being delivered in tie-ups with the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Directorate General of Health Services and online pharmaceutical companies.

Banking transactions

Amid the lockdown, around 1.7 crore Post Office Savings Bank transactions were carried out involving more than ₹23,000 crore, apart from 78 lakh India Post Payments Banks transactions involving around ₹2,000 crore. AePS transactions worth more than ₹260 crore served around 13 lakh customers at their doorsteps.

Over 1 lakh AePS transactions are taking place every day and around 32 lakh of mail articles have been delivered apart from the payment of about 17 lakh money orders.

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