Staff Correspondent:

The branch post office in Borohor, Ullapara, Sirajganj, still has its old post box in front of it. The post box’s paint has faded from the sun and rain, and the lock has rusted. There is no record of how long it has been left unopened. Aminul Islam has been serving as a postman at this office for 17 years. He said that during his long career, not a single letter has ever arrived. The box is opened occasionally for cleaning. This scenario is not unique to Borohor; most post offices across the country share a similar picture. At one time, the postal service in Bangladesh was the most reliable medium for sending letters, money, and documents. But unable to keep pace with the times, this state institution is now on the verge of extinction.

Postman Aminul Islam said, “People used to drop letters in the post box in the past. Now, with the modernization of information transmission that practice has disappeared. There are still some official duties. On average, excluding weekly holidays, I have to deliver 10–15 letters a day. Most of these are legal notices from banks, NGOs, and other institutions, or notices related to marriage or divorce.”

The Bangladesh Post Office is a service-oriented government agency under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The traditional postal system is not only disappearing but has also now become a significant financial burden for the government. According to the postal department, from FY 2019–20 to FY 2023–24, the government spent BDT 47.02 billion on this sector alone. In return, revenue amounted to only BDT 14.19 billion. In other words, over the five years, the government incurred a loss of more than BDT 32.83 billion on the postal department. The final report for FY 2024–25 was not available on the agency’s website.

Officials say that the agency now faces an existential crisis due to the failure to improve its service quality, lack of modernization, and unchecked corruption during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government. During the AL government, billions of BDT were embezzled under the guise of postal development. As a result, despite government spending, service quality did not see significant improvement.

From FY 2019–20 to FY 2023–24, the Post Office spent over BDT 11.88 billion on salaries for existing officers and staff. Allowances cost BDT 9.75 billion, and pensions and gratuities amounted to BDT 15.33 billion. In total, salary, allowances, pensions, and gratuities cost BDT 36.97 billion.

Over the past years, the Awami League government has spent billions on several postal department projects, including infrastructure development, the MPC project, and housing for officers and staff. However, this massive expenditure has not restored public confidence in the postal service. Back in 2021, a Post Office building was inaugurated in the capital’s Agargaon area, at a cost of BDT 920 million. For housing postal officers and staff, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved BDT 3.76 billion in 2019 for the Construction of Residential Buildings for Postal Officers and Staff in Dhaka City project. To modernize and streamline postal services, the then-Awami League government implemented the Mail Processing Centers (MPC) project across 14 districts from July 2018 to June 2022, spending BDT 3.65 billion. Additionally, the postal department initiated a project to construct modern post offices at a cost of BDT 9 billion. Allegations of widespread irregularities and corruption have been reported in this project as well.

Following 2024’s political shift in Bangladesh, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed cases against former postal department Director General Sudhanshu Shekhar Bhadra and Deputy Postmaster General Mostak Ahmed over allegations of embezzlement of public funds through misuse of power and various irregularities. Both were arrested in connection with the cases.

Field visits to post offices in Sirajganj and Mirsharai, Chattogram, revealed minimal activity. Officers outnumbered customers at the Mirsharai sub-post office. Only two or three customers came for savings certificate transactions. Master Gopal Chandra Nath of the Abutorab post office in the sub-district said, “Now, most letters are related to marriage, divorce, or banks. Some letters also come from industries in the Mirsharai National Special Economic Zone. Personal letters and documents hardly ever arrive.”

An official from the postal department noted that while money orders were once frequent, mobile financial services (MFS) such as bKash, Nagad, and banking transactions have largely replaced them. However, due to a contract with the online shop Daraz, some parcels have started arriving at post offices. With limited activity, some sub-post offices remain closed at times, and postmen do not attend regularly.

On the overall situation, Al Mahbub, Director (Planning) at the postal department, told journalists, “We have a large workforce. Significant expenses are incurred for them. The government maintains this department for public service, not for revenue. Therefore, it cannot be evaluated purely on income and expenditure. Couriers can increase prices and make profits at will, but if the postal department raises a price by even 10 poisha, it requires approval up to the Prime Minister. Service is the priority here.”

He added, “Personal and family letters have almost disappeared, while commercial letters have increased. We are improving service quality. Earlier, letters could not be tracked; recipients only knew when they arrived. Now tracking is possible. We have implemented such modernization. And work is ongoing to further modernize service standards.”