Parcelling woes. - Bags

Annapurna and Anita started out yesterday morning with the consignment of bags. Heavy bundles, but village women do what needs to be done. I had insisted that they needed to definitely check out the parceling rates as it was said to be far lower that the courier. 

They went to Dammlcheruvu PO and there were dismissed with a rate quoted way higher than courier. They had tried to contact me, but my phone was dead. And they proceeded to the couriers. Then I got through to them, and gave them a earful for not somehow getting the right rates from the PO, for somehow contacting me, and told them that it had to be done, and to simply return with the luggage to the village. I reminded them that all the auto costs would simply eat into what money they were making from the bags.

Again, today they set out - Annapurna and Rani. Another day on this meant another day's earnings gone. They called me up from Damalcheruvu. The postmaster was insisting that he would only take one parcel a day from them, and that each had to be less that 5kg. I demanded to speak to him, and while taking him to task discovered that he was simply going to make the going very difficult for the women. I asked them to just go to the bigger PO in Pakala, and mentally postponed handling this postmaster to another day.

At the Pakala PO the postmaster again old them that he would take only one parcel per day. And then I gave him the kind of yelling over phone I have not given anyone in a long time. I demanded he give his refusal in writing. And that I would take it up with the authorities in Hyderabad. He refused to give anything in writing, and I told him that he was welcome to simply turn them away, and then I would do the needful with the authorities. I hung up on him.

And then he barked at Annapurna and Rani and kept them waiting till 3pm as he went for lunch. Then he objected to the packing and made them repack. then he demanded that addresses be computer printouts, and they needed to go and somehow procure these. These girls waited thro' the day without food, to finally send out 5 parcels. And he will do this again with them next time !

So this is how the poor are treated. Everywhere. 



24th Dec 2014

Anita and Lakshmikantha went to Pakala today, 10 km away, our nearest PO, to post the nineteen parcels of cloth bags. But the PO turned them back accepting only half the bags. I tried arguing over the phone with the PO, to no avail. So they will have to go again on Monday to post the rest.

It takes a day to go and come, and they lose a whole day. The busstop is 4km away, and they need to walk to there. And again walk back in the afternoon or evening. But that is only their problem, I suppose.

And this is how the poor are tossed around. They take it all quietly.