AUGUST 4: If you are a resident of Antop Hill and have not received a letter for a long time, it's time for you to know your neighbourhood better. For, that important call letter that you have been waiting for may just be lying with one of your neighbours.

Also, it would help if you kept your eyes open while moving around in the neighbourhood. Any envelope or post card lying around must be checked carefully - it could be an undelivered letter. If you have shifted residence recently, it is very important that you visit your previous house at least twice a week to check if any of your mail has been delivered there. This is irrespective of whether you have informed the Antop Hill Post Office of the change of address or not.

Even after taking all these precautions, it is advisable that you brace yourself for surprises - one must never underestimate their imagination. A gentleman the other day found a bunch of letters addressed to the residents of Building no 138 of the Central Government Service Colony in Sector IV lying on the staircase of Building no 135 in the same sector. All the letters had different dates on them, implying that they were deposited on the staircase of this unoccupied building quite regularly.

When the matter was reported to Express Newsline, our reporter spoke to some of the residents in Building no 138. Most of them complained of irregular delivery of letters. They said frequent changes in addresses added to the problem. Shashikala Diwedi received the news of a death in her family over a fortnight late. The letter informing her of the tragedy was delivered at the address where she resided three years back. The letter had the new address on it.

She added that her son would have lost a job after his appointment letter was delivered at her previous address. His employer later sent him a telegram, which fortunately was delivered at the right address. She said she had informed the Antop Hill post office of the change in her address.Her neighbour J Soundarajaran complained his letters land up at his neighbour's house. ``Some people are kind enough to hand over our letters...otherwise we are at the mercy of the postman,'' he said. However, the Antop Hill post office denied that letters are being delivered at wrong addresses. In fact, officials said the postman covering the area is known for his good track record. About the bunch of letters recovered from an unoccupied building, the officials said the postman could have dropped the bunch accidentally.

They said the residents had not complained to them about the problem and assured that they would look into the matter.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.