Sir,
Post Offices are invariably the preferred destination for secure investments of small savings of government employees — serving and retired — as well as the general public. But for the past several weeks, Post Offices (PO) are facing acute shortage of passbooks, resulting in hardships for customers wishing to open accounts. In such an event the PO should at least issue an acknowledgement for having received the deposit money, application and related documents, with an indication of a firm date as to when they can collect the passbook. As of now, there is no such practice. Customers, especially senior citizens, cannot be asked to visit again and again to check whether the account is opened, and whether the related documents are ready. It is not understood as to why Post Offices cannot maintain adequate stock of essential forms, passbooks etc., by advance planning, instead of having to face a situation of totally no stock. It is hoped that the authorities concerned would take urgent action to address this problem at the earliest.
