Postal dept says sorry for letter delay

The postal department has accepted responsibility for the delay in delivering Home Minister P Chidambaram’s letter to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee which led to red faces in Delhi and Kolkata over the past week.

The postal department has accepted responsibility for the delay in delivering Home Minister P Chidambaram’s letter to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee which led to red faces in Delhi and Kolkata over the past week.

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In a written statement, the home ministry spokesman said the letter had been sent on December 22nd, contradicting Dak Bhawan’s claim that the communication was actually booked a day later and denying any delay.

“The Home Minister’s letter to the Chief Minister, West Bengal was sent by Speed Post on December 22, 2010 under No. ED468157705IN. It reached Kolkata GPO on 24.12.2010 at 6.00 am,” the home ministry spokesperson said.

“The letter should, therefore, have been delivered on 24 December, which was a working day,” the spokesperson said.

India Post General Manager Post Alok Sharma had written to the Home Ministry on Monday and “apologised for the delay in delivery of the article.”

Alok Sharma, General Manager, Post has apologised for the delay in the delivery of the article in his letter dated 27 December, the statement said. Some reports from Kolkata had indicated that the postal department had ordered an inquiry into the delay.