CBS facility a non starter in Postal department
SHILLONG/ TURA: Postal customers have demanded cancellation of Sify for its pathetic internet supply and Infosys Finacle, the Core Banking Solution (CBS) software used by India Post, as it is unable to handle large customer databases.
The problem has become an irritant to the postal customers all over the State.
Due to the internet link failure the postal department was also loosing valuable collections of premiums and other investments in its schemes. Director Postal Services (HQ), NE Circle, Som Kamei, informed that customers have also complained to the Prime Minister and the PMO has asked the postal department to resolve this matter within a timeframe.
“The postal department is currently going through an overhauling, transiting from the earlier conventional method to a reformed banking pattern, which is going to take some time,” he said.
The postal department is dependent on two servers in southern India, out of which one has crashed recently and the second one is unable to handle data of two servers.
Meanwhile, Indian Postal Service Officer, S.C. Barmma, who assumed charge as Chief Post Master General (CPMG) at the Office of the CPMG, NE Circle – I in August last year after earning a Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) promotion has joined the Union Law Ministry on deputation. While informing this, his personal assistant (PA) said that the CPMG was relieved on April 1 and it would take at least five to six months time to replace him with a new CPMG. In the interim period, Post Master General (PMG), I Pangernungsang will serve as the acting CPMG.
During this short tenure of Barmma, the internet connectivity issue has been the major bone of contention. Though he was never heard or seen making any statements on the issue of perennial internet link failure and low bandwidth, which has literally rattled the postal apparatuses at the GPO and other sub post offices in Shillong and the state at large, but was threatened to be petitioned by none other than the postal employees themselves who are facing the heat from irate customers for no fault of theirs.
Woes of customers in Garo Hills
Several customers of the Postal department in Garo Hills have revealed certain anomalies in the service being rendered by the department prior and after merging to the new technology, Core Banking Solution (CBS).
According to the customers, the Tura Head Post Office was reported to have been merged to CBS a month ago. However, the service given by it is very poor much to their dismay and ire due to frequent internet link failure.
The customers felt that the department’s authorities should direct its staff to shift to offline mode (manual) whenever there is an internet link failure.
“The frequent link failure at Tura Head Post Office is irritating the customers who, in the near future will look to other banks to invest their money,” they said.
A very reliable source further informed that the Sub Post Office at Chandmary was the worst with almost no transactions taking place on the pretext that it was still in the process of merging to CBS. He claimed that there were even instances of people unable to make Saving Bank (SB) and Recurring Deposit Maturity withdrawals till date despite their accounts being matured as early as December, 2015.
Stating that it was high time that the post office’s relationship with its customers was fixed, the source who chose not to be named has urged the competent authority to look into the matter and act if it wants to retain its customers.