Bengaluru: The Centre for Entrepreneurship Development of Karnataka (CEDOK) has come up with 'Smart Post Kiosks' that will enable people to book parcels as well as registered and speed posts round the clock.
Currently, one such kiosk has been installed on pilot basis at Museum Road in Bengaluru. Now, 12 kiosks would be installed across the city. The 'Smart Post Kiosk' will operate like the Automated Teller Machines (ATM), which is a self-service banking outlet where one can withdraw cash, check balance and transfer funds at any time.
Presently, one can drop letters into the post box at anytime but in order to send a registered or speed post or to book a parcel, one has to go to the post office. The post office remains closed during all public holidays and Sundays and even when it is open, services are available only during a fixed number of hours.
The 'Smart Post Kiosk' is an automated system to accept parcels, speed and registered posts. One has to go to the kiosk for the postal services just as an ATM for withdrawing money. The prescribed fee can be paid through UPI, credit card, debit card or netbanking. When the parcel is placed at the kiosk, its weight will be displayed along with the fare. After the fee is paid, the parcel is accepted.
A 'Smart Post Kiosk' has already been installed at the post office in Museum Road on pilot basis. After seeing its success, officials of the postal department have suggested to install such kiosks at 12 other places following which, it will be officially implemented across the state.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Srikrishna, joint director of CEDOK said that in the current system, people have to stand in long queues at the post office in order to book parcels or letters. Moreover, the service is not available throughout the day, he said. "The kiosk on the other hand is an automated system. Here, service can be availed at any time on all days of the week. No waiting time is involved and the person himself can get the service without any assistance. The entire process is completely automated," he said.
Presently parcels weighing upto 10 kg can be booked through the kiosk. But, these units can be redesigned as per requirement. "Currently we are manufacturing these kiosks ourselves and both software and hardware have been developed by us. The Postal Department has given us an order to install the kiosks at 12 places and this will be done very soon," Srikrishna said.
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