Ludhiana: Week on, upgraded software in post offices faces multiple glitches

Hindustan Times

17 hours ago

A week after its rollout, the much-hyped IT 2.0 digital upgrade in post offices across Ludhiana has turned into a flop show, leaving visitors frustrated and routine services in disarray. Postal staff say they are struggling with parcel bookings, money order payments, and invoice-related work. (Manish/HT)
Tall promises, technical chaos
Launched on August 5 with promises of stronger digital security, faster service, and better user experience, the new system has instead been plagued by technical glitches, repeated server crashes, and slower processing. Postal staff say they are struggling with parcel bookings, letter deliveries, dispatches, money order payments, and invoice-related work.
'The server goes down repeatedly during rush hours, sometimes for hours at a stretch, making it impossible to manage the crowd. When transactions freeze mid way, we have to cancel and restart the process, often leading to heated arguments from customers who have already been waiting for long. It not only delays our work but also creates a stressful and chaotic atmosphere at the counters', said a head office employee on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, residents also expressed frustration over the constant breakdowns.
'We came to the post office for urgent and affordable deliveries, but now it takes longer than before. Even small parcel bookings stretch into a 20 to 30-minute wait, and sometimes we have to come back the next day,' said Shubham Sharma, a visitor to the head post office.
Increased manual work
Highlighting the grim picture, postal staff said the upgrade came with hefty assurances of digital advancement, but in reality, it has increased our manual work.
The new system has more mandatory columns than before, making it more complex to operate. With the server frequently collapsing, we are forced to record every dispatch, every transaction in Excel sheets. Once the system is restored, this data has to be entered again, doubling the workload, they added.
Union writes to the department of posts
In a letter written to the department of posts, the local unit of All India Gramin Dak Sevaks Union (AIGDSU) highlighted that the new Internal App 2.0 is grappled with operational problems. It often fails to properly scan mail bags and the system often does not show them as received or sent.
This means letters and parcels get stuck instead of moving to their destination. Money order rules in the app are unclear, and sometimes the balance shown in the app does not match with the branch account, leading to discrepancies.
In rural belts of Ludhiana, the app barely works, often showing 'server busy' or freezing. Some transactions, like AEPS (Aadhaar-based payments), are not recorded properly, leading to confusion.
The union further urged the department for quick fix and concrete solutions.
Official response
When contacted, senior postmaster Balbir Singh said the issues stem mainly from backend with problems in bookings and dispatches caused by the added features in the new system. 'Our accounts and transactions are the most affected, while other services are functioning normally,' he stated.