KARACHI, Jan 29: The Pakistan Post Office (PPO) has decided to open additional 50 Franchise Post Offices in Karachi which would not only make postal facilities available to people nearer to their homes but would help provide job opportunities to them in their areas.
This was stated by Postmaster General Sindh Mohammed Ahmed Mian, while inaugurating a "composite counter" at the General Post Office (GPO) here on Thursday.
At the composite counter, people would have all sorts of postal facilities under a one-window operation. The PMG said the opening of a large number of night post offices had been decided and some of them had already started functioning.
"Besides the provision of 160 motorcycles for postmen in Karachi, the post office department has started the second letter delivery from December 2003, for which 60 motorcycle-riding postmen have been deployed on duty," He said and added that with the start of the second delivery the post distribution system in the city had witnessed a considerable improvement.
Mohammed Ahmed Mian said that keeping the modern-day requirements in view, the PPO was employing all resources and energies, and was initiating a number of steps to take care of the requirements.
He said the saving banks and other services had been computerised at all the major general post offices in the country and the process was under implementation at Lahore and Rawalpindi GPOs. In Karachi, he announced, the counter computerization would soon be completed.
He referred to the establishment of the modern post mall in Islamabad and said similar projects in Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore were in the final stages of approval.
M.A. Mian told the gathering that Western Union Money Transfer counters, the fast mode of money transfer, had been set up at all the major GPOs, and to ensure the fastest parcel delivery abroad the PPO had established 11 counters in Karachi with the cooperation of the DHL.
He disclosed that talks are being held with the Ministry of Finance for transaction of welfare saving certificates and pensioners benefit account in post offices. At present these are transacted at the National Saving Centres.
He said because of inadequate number of such centres, people could not fully benefit from those saving schemes. He added that the PPO was already providing services in the saving bank and, therefore, initiation of these schemes from post offices would be in the interest of people.
Speaking of the facility of payment of utility bills, the postmaster general said at present the facility was available in 168 post offices in Karachi. "Under this facility 20 multi-purpose counters have been setup at the first floor of the GPO where every facility is available at every counter.
"At the second floor of GPO 13 counters of saving bank and pension have been established. The 20 counters set up at the first floor to facilities payment of utility bills and other postal facilities will be available on the pattern of one window operation. These services will be available from 9am to 9pm.
"At the ground floor there will be an information counter and supply of all sorts of postal stamps and envelopes. For the elderly and special people a separate counter has been set up at the first floor," he went on.
The postmaster general was confident that provision of these facilities in the city's busiest area would prove a source of satisfaction besides saving time.-APP