Employees of the Indian Postal Employees Association staged a protest and hunger strike outside Sanchar Bhavan in Kolkata on Thursday against a proposal to merge the Central Kolkata postal division with other divisions, including North Kolkata and East Kolkata. The association is demanding that the division retain its separate identity and that authorities focus on improving its infrastructure and services instead of combining it with another administrative unit.
The employees’ association said the proposed merger could create uncertainty over postings, job security, staff welfare and administrative procedures. It also raised concerns about employees who have worked in the Central Kolkata division for 20 to 30 years, saying changes to the division’s structure could complicate leave, gratuity, documentation and account-related processes.
Swarnendu Chakraborty, circle secretary of the West Bengal Circle of the Indian Postal Employees Association, described Central Kolkata as a traditional division whose separate existence should be preserved. He said the proposal was a concern at a time when the focus should be on expanding divisions in some areas and improving administrative infrastructure.
The association also said the proposed restructuring could affect postal service users. Debadatta Roy, divisional secretary of the Central Kolkata division, said customers currently resolve many service-related issues within their own area. If the merger is implemented, he claimed, some customers could have to travel to locations such as Belgachia or New Town for documentation and other administrative work.
The concern is particularly significant for older residents in areas such as Bowbazar and Burrabazar, according to Roy. He said many customers in these neighbourhoods are above 60 and could face additional difficulty if they have to travel farther to resolve postal service issues.
The Central Kolkata division also includes important institutions such as Raj Bhavan, Fort William, the state Assembly and Writers’ Building, according to Chakraborty. The association said changes to the division’s administrative structure could create difficulties for these institutions and other users in the area, although the report does not specify the operational details of the proposed merger or its implementation schedule.
The employees’ association said its protest was intended not only to protect staff interests but also to preserve the convenience of ordinary postal service users. It has asked authorities to retain the division’s separate status and reconsider the merger proposal.
During the hunger strike, representatives of the association held discussions with the Chief Postmaster General of the West Bengal Circle, Roy said. According to the association, the authorities assured them that their proposals would be forwarded to senior officials and that attention would be paid to ensuring that any decision does not adversely affect employees. No final decision or implementation date was reported.
