Curchorem post office faces disruptions after software upgrade

Margao: A week after India Post completed its nationwide IT2.0 software upgrade, the Curchorem post office continues to grapple with severe operational problems, leaving customers frustrated and services severely disrupted.With serpentine queues that move agonisingly slowly, the Curchorem post office is witnessing unprecedented customer dissatisfaction over the last two weeks. “I stood in the queue at 9.15am and finally got my parcel booked at 12.30pm,” said one visibly agitated customer, reflecting the daily ordeal faced by postal service users.The situation has become so dire that customers are making multiple trips to complete basic transactions.

Another customer shared his three-day struggle to send speed post letters, recounting how he was turned away on his second visit when booking hours ended while he waited in the queue. “Yesterday, when my turn came, the clock struck one, and the counter staff refused my parcel citing closing hours. I had already lost three hours waiting,” he said.‘Network failure’ is the refrain from the personnel manning the counters when services are down.

Sources within the post office attribute the problems to the inadequate processing power of existing systems that appear incompatible with the new software. “The computers hang every 10 minutes. The earlier application worked fine, and no such queues would form,” sources in the Curchorem post office said.What further compounds the problem at the Curchorem post office is that the facility operates with only two functional counters — one for registered parcels and another for postal banking services— thereby affecting staff efficiency and customer experience.This situation mirrors earlier disruptions reported at the Margao head post office where the IT2.0 rollout caused significant interruptions in service earlier this month. The post office displayed ‘Server Down’ notices, affecting crucial services including speed post and registered mail during the Raksha Bandhan period.Customers’ complaints to senior officials at the Curchorem post office have been met with indifference, while counter staff express their helplessness over the persistent technical failures. A senior official said that the matter has been reported to the state headquarters of India Post, including requisitioning more computers.