Postal Service Is Here To Stay

Established in 1935, Nepal Postal Service is one of the oldest and largest government agencies working till now. Back in those days when other means of communication were almost non-existent, the postal service worked not only as a personal messaging tool but also carried almost everything from food supplies, clothes, and military logistics to money orders. In the present era of social media and the internet, where almost every means of communication is one click away, has the postal service lost its relevance?  With rapid technological advancements, will postal services go obsolete in the future? As someone working in the Nepal Post for over a decade, I have often been asked these questions. The answer in short is no. 

On the contrary, with the advent of communication channels and people globally getting closer and connected than ever, the scope of postal service, in fact, has expanded. Every year since 1969, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the global governing body of postal services, has celebrated World Post Day on October 9, marking the day it was established in 1874.  Member countries worldwide celebrate this day with activities such as philatelic exhibitions, letter-writing competitions, and other civic engagement activities. In Nepal, the Department of Postal Services under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has been organising various activities to mark this day. The theme for this year’s World Post Day is ‘Post for People: Local Service, Global Reach’.  

Farthest-reaching service 

In Nepal, the Department of Postal Services in Kathmandu works through Postal Directorates stationed in each province. Under these directorates are District Post Offices in each district, and further under them are Post Offices at each local level. Moreover, 3074 Additional Post Offices (APOs) are spread nationwide. With this structure all over the country, the postal network is one of the largest and farthest-reaching services in the government mechanism. After becoming a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 2013 BS, Nepal joined the global postal network and started exchanging letters, parcels, and postage stamps with other countries from 2016 BS. Today, the UPU, which has 192 member countries, is one of the largest specialised UN agencies. 

This large network of domestic post offices and its affiliation to the global postal network have the potential to build strong people-to-people connections. As the theme of this year’s World Post Day suggests, the services we provide at the local level can have a global reach. The Postal Service can connect the Nepali diaspora spread all over the world. Social media and the internet are readily available means for instant communication, but through the postal services, physical copies of documents, gifts, souvenirs, parcels, postcards and handwritten letters can be exchanged. This gives a personalized feel to the receivers. 

Imagine sending ‘Sayapatri Phool ko Mala’ in Tihar from a sister in some rural village of Nepal to her brother living abroad, or wedding gifts from someone living abroad being delivered to their loved ones at their doorstep in Nepal. These will not only connect people but also strengthen family and societal ties.Writing postcards and letters to our loved ones seems like a lost tradition. Foreigners, especially those from the West, still seem to carry this tradition with such passion. As an employee of the post office in Surkhet, I have registered and dispatched hundreds of postcards by foreigners living in Nepal. I have also come across many passionate postcrossers from Nepal who send postcards to their postcrossing friends all over the world. 

Postcards with the images of our snow-clad mountains, pristine lakes, and our vibrant cultures available in popular tourist destinations like Kathmandu and Pokhara are extremely popular among foreigners. Stamped alongside are our beautiful Postage Stamps issued by the Department of Postal Services. How often do we send postcards to each other inside Nepal? Wishing our friends and family on various occasions like Dashain, Tihar and Chhat festivals by sending them postcards surely can make them feel special. Starting a postcard culture inside Nepal will not only build strong connections in our social circle but also promote domestic tourism and many local places. 

E-commerce

Another area where we can incorporate postal services to enhance connectivity between people is e-commerce. The globalised world has been further shrunk by e-commerce. Though global e-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba are yet to launch their full-fledged operations in Nepal, their influence is still visible through the growing use of many online shopping platforms like Daraz and Thuprai, among others. Nepal Postal Service, with its wide network and experienced human resources, can assist this growing sector to reach further heights. Nepal’s wide array of traditional products, such as tea, spices, handicrafts, and traditional art, can be exposed to new markets, and small business owners from rural areas can have access to customers through these e-commerce platforms.   

Despite the immense potential they possess, postal services in Nepal have their own share of problems. The Nepal Postal Service currently uses the Postal Internal Tracking System (PITS) to register, dispatch and track the letters and parcels. Various other online postal management applications, like the Postal Ticket Management System (PTMS), IPS.Post and CDS. Post, are being used to streamline operations and improve service delivery of Nepali postal services. However, the use of postal codes in addresses still needs to be fully adopted. There is also room for improvement in postal routes, delivery time, and marketisation of the services offered. Addressing these issues will not only increase connectivity among people locally and globally but will also significantly contribute to the revenue of the government.    

(The writer currently works at the Postal Directorate Surkhet)