DIBRUGARH, March 15 - Forget Digital India, a section of the public sector enterprises have not contributed one bit to this highly ambitious programme of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People at large have tolerated severe difficulties and rode over the demonetisation phase too, and continue to vote enthusiastically for the BJP, hoping for much better days ahead.
But Central undertakings like the Department of Post and BSNL, at least in Assam, have done little to take ahead the Digital India programme. Worse, BSNL has ensured that its services across the board � leased lines, broadband, slow internet, mobile and landline services � continue to remain as horrid as they were in the Inspector Raj days of the 60s, 70s and 80s. BSNL�s services, at least in Dibrugarh and elsewhere in the State, hardly work.
Similarly, the Department of Post too has done almost nothing to contribute to Digital India, despite the fact that postmen in India enjoy among the best pay packages in the country, of course at tax payers� cost. While the day of the conventional letter may have been over, postal services are still availed by members of the public, by way of speed post, registered post, magazine and journal delivery, etc. While doorstep deliveries of goods and articles by the department leaves much to be desired, the speed post service is in fact a very slow service.
Speed post articles booked in the city take almost a week to be delivered, that too in VIP addresses like that of the Chief Minister at the State Secretariat. Complaints just don�t work. The Postal department website will guide complainants to a spaghetti network, and the complainant ends up cursing himself, as to why he choose to complain in the first place. Private couriers like Blue Dart, DHL, DTDC or First Flight offer much better services.
On several days, the post offices in upper Assam cannot book speed post packets because their online booking system does not have internet facilities. This has become quite common in Assam, and with internet service providers themselves becoming offline, it is now clear that Prime Minister Modi has an uphill task in lugging Assam to the digital bandwagon.
Citizens here and in other urban centres of the region today told this newspaper that they are mostly unhappy with services rendered by BSNL and the Postal department. While many today do without BSNL�s services, some of the postal services like registered letters and speed post articles continue to be force-patronised by the civil population due to the lack of a competent service. Will these two departments and their personnel ever learn? All this while they have not shown any indication that they will facilitate efficiency. The people at large are at a loss!
