Kerala - Kochi   

Speed Post drop boxes launched

KOCHI: Speed Post drop boxes were launched here on Thursday. The new service from the Department of Posts was introduced here for the first time in the country.

Customers can now avoid standing in queues at post offices to send Speed Post articles. Five drop boxes have been launched in the first phase, with Mayor Mercy Williams inaugurating the one at Manorama junction, Panampilly Nagar.

The receipt number of the booked article will be sent to the sender’s cellphone number. A track-and-trace system with an interactive voice response system is in place at the Speed Post Centre, Ernakulam. It functions round the clock, and the customer needs to call 0484 2373373 or send an SMS to 9446 502991 to get the current status of the article.

The drop boxes, orange in colour, are there at Vyttila junction, Thevara, the Cochin University of Science and Technology campus and the Kendriya Bhavan, Kakkanad.

The articles should have the correct amount of postage affixed and carry the full names and addresses of the addressee and the sender, with pin code and cellphone numbers. The envelope should be superscribed Speed Post. Special envelopes can be obtained from post offices.

Articles weighing up to 50 g can be sent anywhere in the country at Rs. 25.

If the destination is local for a 50-g packet, the cost will be Rs. 12. An article weighing more than 50 g need to be weighed for appropriate postage.

Details of the tariff are available on the web site of the department, www.indiapost.org. An envelope with six A4-sized paper sheets weighs within 50 g.

Shobha Koshy, Postmaster-General, Central Region, speaking at meeting in connection with the inauguration of the Speed Post boxes, said the post offices had broadened the scope of their financial services.

The Mayor released a special festive stamp pack that cost Rs. 105.

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