Home to hundreds of commercial sex workers, the area gets a revamped post office with an all-women staff, offering an array of reliable savings options
Swati Pandey, postmaster general, India Post of Mumbai region, at the launch of the renovated post office
One of the bylanes of Kamathipura has been the home of Shuili P* for the last nine years. When she learnt that the old post office in the vicinity had got a new look and an all-women staff, the 26-year-old commercial sex worker rushed to become the first to open a savings account for her 6-month-old daughter. “We want to save money but never found a safer way. We have been investing in local schemes and have suffered losses. I have lost nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, but with this post office in our area, now I can safely invest for my daughter’s future.”
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The initiative by India Post has let hopes soar for many like Shuili who are often looked down upon. Apart from offering an array of much-reliable saving schemes, the post office will also have an Aadhaar enrollment and update facility. Swati Pandey, postmaster general, India Post of Mumbai region, said the post office, which was renovated and reopened on Tuesday, is aimed at providing complete investment support to the inhabitants of Kamathipura.
This belt still has close to 1,700 commercial sex workers living in six lanes. “They are the sole earning members of their families. However, we found that most of them are not independent when it comes to investing. Despite living in the heart of Mumbai, we found that they do not have formal banking help. We then decided to provide them with a safe environment where we can guide them and get them into investment mode,” she said.
The all-women post office at Kamathipura. Pics/Atul Kamble
Kamathipura PO, one of the 229 post offices in Mumbai, was established in 1969. “It was in bad shape and we decided to renovate it with the help of regional office contributions so that there is a feel-good factor for the women visiting the office. They need respectability as we provide financial inclusion,” said Pandey.
She said the staff, a six-women team, has been sensitised on how to interact with the locals. “Unlike other PO [post offices], the staff will be involved in outreach programmes where they will reach out to the women proactively to educate and guide them into different investment opportunities,” she said.
As per India Post’s data, there are 440 girls in the age group of 0-10 who are eligible for the department’s Sukanya Samriddhi Yojanas. “With the SSYA, a gender targeted financial scheme to secure the future of the girl child, we are helping the mother secure the future of the daughter. Most of the mothers in this area are a single parent,” said Pandey.
Shuili’s 29-year-old friend Binodino M*, a Kamathipura resident for the past 12 years, said they never found anyone to guide them with money. “It has always been a risk to trust someone. We usually send our savings to our village and thereby lose control over it. We continue to remain dependent on our families for our own money. By having a post office, we now will be able to plan our children’s future,” she said.
While most adults have managed to get their Aadhaar cards, it was still a challenge for many to get one for their kids. “During our camps, we were told by the residents that they are having a problem in getting an Aadhaar card for their children as it requires the name and signature of the father. We then spoke to the Aadhaar card authorities and found a special window in which a local NGO head or local corporator can sign off as a guardian for minors,” said Pandey.
(*name changed to protect identity)
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