Goa Forward Party President and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai has strongly criticised the alleged replacement of Goan postmen with recruits from Maharashtra, calling it a grave injustice and a major cause of postal failures across the state.
Speaking during his weekly Junta Durbar at Goemkar Ghor, Sardesai said, “I have received credible information that important letters, especially those dispatched from revenue offices, are simply not reaching people in areas like Ponda.” He revealed that 49 experienced Goan postmen had been replaced with Maharashtra-based recruits, severely affecting postal delivery.
Sardesai raised serious concerns about the new recruits’ lack of local knowledge and language proficiency. “One such postman assigned to the Ambaji area doesn’t even speak Konkani or English,” he said, pointing out that the area includes many Scheduled Tribe families, particularly elderly residents unfamiliar with Hindi.
He questioned the recruitment basis, alleging favouritism based on high Marathi scores. “Why are people with 93% in Marathi becoming postmen in Goa, where Konkani is the official language? No one knows,” he said. “But what’s worse is that Goans who have worked for 10–15 years are being replaced overnight.”
Citing troubling reports, Sardesai claimed some of the new postmen were asking for directions at bars and, in some cases, dumping letters when unable to locate addresses. “These are the results of a badly thought-out recruitment policy,” he added.
He reminded the public that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier assured the Assembly that Konkani would be made compulsory for such posts and that the issue would be taken up with the Centre. “But that is with regards to the future,” he said. “The people are suffering now due to this poorly thought-out decision made last year.”
Sardesai called on the state government to immediately reverse the policy and ensure priority for Goan youth in local postal appointments. “I will raise this issue again in the upcoming Assembly session. I hope this news coverage itself serves as a wake-up call and forces the government to act before that.”
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