Massive drive in Andaman to allot correct postal address

Port Blair, Aug 26 (UNI) India Post is all set to start a massive drive to allot house numbers for every house of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where tracing out addresses has become a nightmare.

Speaking to UNI here today, Director of Postal Department in Andaman Madhumita Das said, ''Most of the time, it becomes difficult for our postmen to trace out addresses in these remote scattered islands and without proper marking and house numbers the task become more complicated.'' Post-tsunami, thousands of addresses had been changed in the southern group of islands whereas in the northern group, the house numbering had not been done properly. To deal with this crisis, the postal department planned to start allotting a specific number to each and every house with the help of Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC) and Andaman PWD.

''We will be giving every family an address slip in which their house number will be written as identification mark. If both the sides, consumers and the service provider, is comfortable with the address, there won't be any problem in future,'' the director added.

She further informed, ''For delivering mails to tsunami-hit families, the Postal Department of Andaman has taken a unique step.

Wherever people rendered homeless by tsunami have been shifted to temporary shelters, the entire postal unit of that remote village have also moved with those families.

''We have shifted most of our units in temporary shelters for the convenience of the public,'' Ms Das added.

Out of 572 islands comprising the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, only 36 are inhabited and the Postal Department has a total of 101 postal units across these 36 inhabited islands, while eight postal units are moving with tsunami-hit families.

''Marking will also be done in all the permanent and temporary shelters in tsunami-ravaged areas and proper house number will be allotted to each house,'' the director added.

UNI