Hyderabad: Customers at the General Post Office (GPO) in Hyderabad were affected on Monday due to a server outage that lasted from 8 am to 2.50 pm. The unexpected downtime forced many to return home, wait for several hours, make multiple trips, or opt for private courier services.
Authorities were reportedly unaware of the breakdown until this correspondent alerted the Chief Postmaster General, Hyderabad region, via the Indian Post Office's official X handle. The first transaction of the day did not occur until nearly seven hours after the post office opened.
Customers who arrived as early as 8 am were frustrated by the lack of communication and assistance from the GPO staff. Habeeb Mosin Attas, a senior citizen from Basheerbagh, said at 1.30 pm: "This is my third trip since the morning."
Ram Kumar, a pensioner from Barkatpura, added, "I have been waiting since morning. If I go back and return, I'll spend another ₹100 on autorickshaw fares. The authorities here have no information on when services will resume. They don't even have a proper response. They've hung boards saying, 'Server down, please kindly cooperate’, at all 20 counters."
The GPO handles more than 3,000 registered post, Speed Post, and parcel services each day. The outage affected many, including G. Srinivas, a retired RTC employee, who was trying to send wedding invitation cards to relatives. "I'm clueless," he said. "A man at the counter said that the server was down throughout the country. I have so many wedding arrangements to handle, and half my day is wasted here."
Deepak, an employee of a cattle feed manufacturer, expressed concern over the impact on his business. "These letters are important documents that need to reach Uttar Pradesh via speed post. This shutdown of the server will affect our operations. This is a nationwide network — they should be as proactive as private courier companies," he said.
After the issue was rectified, the office of the Chief Postmaster General, Hyderabad region, responded over phone. "After the matter was brought to our attention around 1 pm, we resolved the issue by 2.50 pm," a representative stated.
