The postman never knocks at 2 Antop Hill colonies

Bizzare though it may seem, there is not a single postbox to service either colony. Residents say the postmen refuse to enter — the effort is too much — and they therefore dump the mail with the butcher. To simply post a letter, they have to trudge to the Antop Hill post office, a good half an hour away.

However, tired of missing mail, receiving telegrams late and the high-handedness of the butcher, who doesn’t part with “important” mail easily, residents have filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court with the help of the Nirbhay Bano Aandolan, a non-governmental organisation. The petition, which has been posted for hearing after the court vacation, prays that their mail be delivered at their doorstep and that a postbox be installed in the locality.

“It is a fight for our basic right,” says Shakil Ahmed, a resident of Azad Mohalla and a member of the andolan. “The law states that the postman is supposed to deliver letters to the house. Our postman doesn’t even step inside the colony.”

According to the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the postal authorities are obliged to deliver postal articles to the addressee. Also, the Supreme Court’s “delivery of postal article order” of 1996 clearly states that mail has to be delivered to the residence of the addressee.

But for the mailmen of the Antop Hill post office, Sangam Vihar is just “too dirty and congested” for their liking. And despite the residents’ peresistence, the postmaster at Antop Hill says he cannot do a thing about it.

As a result, residents make their daily pilgrimage to the mutton shop, sort the mail and take theirs home. “But more often than not, the letters get stolen,” cribs 10-year-old Saif Ali, a resident of Azad Mohalla. “Our examination results were mailed to us by the school and I can’t find mine. I have made 10 trips to the shop, sifted through the pile numerous times but I still don’t know whether I have passed or not. Now I shall have to go to school when it reopens and check my result.”

The residents began their collective fight for a postbox in November 1998. It began with letters to all the authorities concerned, including the postmaster of Antop Hill and the postmaster-general, Maharashtra Circle. Their complaint to the Antop Hill postmaster had stated: “Your postman dumps all the mail at some shop because of which important letters are lost. We request you to see that your postman delivers letters at the residence of the address and a mailbox be installed near the Durga Temple.”

For a few weeks, the mailmen obliged but soon returned to their old ways. Left with no option, residents began to give `care-of’ addresses of friends living eleswhere in the city. “We plan our trips,” says Hamurniza, aresident of Azad Mohalla. “Some time ago, one of our relatives died in the village and we received the telegram intimating us a whole 10 days later. The postbox we have installed outside our house is always empty. So now some of us have started giving other addresses and plan trips to collect mail.”