By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): Postmen pedaling bicycles for hours to deliver letters–even in remote villages, will become a a thing of the past following the Ministry of Posts decision to provide three wheelers for their mail delivery services as the proposal to introduce Motorcycles for mailmen under state assistance failed to materialized.
The familiar ring of the push-cycle bell will be thinned down and the toot of the tuk tuk at the door step for mail delivery can be heard very soon with the implementation of the ministry proposal.
The postman in Sri Lanka will deliver letters by tuk tuk and not the traditional bicycles in the near future, as part of the modernization of the postal service.
During the modernization of postal service, 1000 three wheelers will be deployed all over the country replacing the traditional bicycles that were used in field for a long time.
Some 1,000 three-wheelers will be deployed country-wide under the modernization of the postal service, replacing the traditional bicycles used in the field for a long time, State Minister of Mass Media Shantha Bandara said today.
He said an official uniform would also be provided to postmen with the ultimate goal of creating a strong postal service in the country.
He said the modernization of the postal service is planned to be carried out as a joint public-private sector partnership at a cost of Rs.10 billion and that the Postal Department will not be privatized at any cost.
It is expected to convert the Postal Department into a profit-making institution within the next two years, through the digitization of the Department, the Minister pointed out.
Further, Minister Shantha Bandara said by the end of 2023, the loss to the Postal Department will be reduced by Rs.4000 million.
The Postal Service’s income in 2022 was Rs. 7,000 million while the expenditure was Rs.14,000 million.
It is planned to resolve the gap between income and expenditure by 2024. In 2025, our goal is to create a Postal Department that no longer depends on the Treasury,” State Minister Bandara said.
Currently, Rs. 4,000 million, Rs. 668 million and Rs. 200 million has been earned annually by the sale of stamps, postage of stamps and Cash On Delivery (COD) service respectively. Also, in the future, it is planned to increase the revenue by popularizing the COD method,” he added
He said that a new Postal Act will be presented to Parliament this year to expedite the modernization process of the Postal Department.
