In Himachal, the postal department will now deliver letters to remote and snowy areas by drones. On the instructions of the central government, the department has started a trial of delivering mail by drones in Upper Shimla. Letters are being delivered from sub-post offices to branch post offices in five to ten minutes. Earlier it used to take a whole day to deliver letters here. After the trial is successful, the department can use high-tech technology to deliver mail to other remote areas as per the instructions of the central government.
The postal department is delivering mail by drone from sub-post office Hatkoti to branch post offices Nandpur, Kathasu, Anti, and Jhadag between 9 am and 12 noon. The drone, which has the capacity to carry up to seven kg at a time, is returning after dropping mail in villages seven to eight kilometers away in five to ten minutes. A postal worker is already deployed at the branch where mail is sent by drone. The entire data of delivering mail by drone in remote rural areas is being kept online. As a trial, the period of delivering mail by drone is ending on January 24.
An official of the department said that an agreement has been signed with a private company for drone trials. Upon successful operation, the department will use drones in other inaccessible and hilly areas. Its purpose is to deliver letters through drones through proof of concept. The center has already conducted trials in Gujarat and Arunachal. After the completion of the trial, the central government will take the next step.
Drone mail is being sent to some branch post offices as a trial. The drone service is running from November 12 to January 24. This work is being done with the help of a private company.