BENGALURU: Monday will mark a red-letter day for Kudlu, a primarily residential locality in the Bommanahalli constituency as the first post office in the area will be opened on Monday.
The occasion will be extra special for nonagenarian V Janakiraman as he is the sole driving force behind this initiative.
A resident of Silver Country Road, the 92-year-old met L K Dash, Postmaster General, Bengaluru HQ Region, in 2022 and pressed on the need for such an amenity in the place.
Janakiraman, a retired Chief Electrical Engineer from the Southern Railway Zone, told TNIE, "This is a largely residential area with many senior citizens residing here. The nearest post office is 8 km away in the heart of Bommanahalli. Many seniors have savings accounts in the post office and use them frequently. Travelling so far was such a big inconvenience for the elderly," he said.
Recalling that his friend and senior citizen Tapan Mukherjee, residing in a block nearby explained the difficulties in not having a post office in the vicinity, Janakiraman said that he decided to get into action.
"I visited the PMG office and met Dash, who was very receptive to the idea. Within a month, he ensured a Post Box in the area as we did not have that too. Within 19 months, a full-fledged Post Office is set to open in our area. This is really quick by government standards as the implementation of any new idea takes a minimum of 1.5 years. There was willingness and complete co-operation from postal officials in Bengaluru towards what I proposed," he said.
The new PO will be located at Vastu Enclave. The senior citizen said, "It is fantastic to know the first PO is getting opened. It will be 1.5 km from my residence. However, I am still fit and will be able to walk the distance."
He adds that the venue chosen is a rented facility in a commercial locality.
"There is enough State government-owned land in the vicinity and since it is a Central government initiative, it will help if the governments can work together and ensure the available land can be utilised. Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy who will be coming over to launch it needs to help out for this," he added.