A proposal to move Jayapur town in Koraput district from the Koraput postal division to a proposed Nabarangpur postal division has triggered opposition from political leaders and residents, while the Department of Posts says the restructuring is intended to improve supervision and service delivery in remote areas.
The proposal was forwarded by the office of the chief postmaster general, Odisha circle, to the Directorate of Posts in New Delhi on September 14. It would place the Nabarangpur district, Jayapur town in Koraput district and parts of Kalahandi district under the proposed Nabarangpur postal division.
The remaining areas of Koraput district, along with Malkangiri district, would continue under the Koraput postal division. A final decision on the proposal is awaited.
Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka, Jayapur MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and former minister Rabi Narayan Nanda have opposed the proposed change. They have urged the Union Ministry of Communications to retain Jayapur under the existing Koraput postal division.
Ulaka said Jayapur had historically been an important administrative and commercial centre of undivided Koraput district. He questioned the rationale for moving the town to another postal division, while adding that restructuring intended to improve postal services should not reduce public convenience.
“I have written to the Union ministry of communications seeking reconsideration of the proposal and am hopeful that our demand will be accepted,” Ulaka said.
Bahinipati described the proposed transfer as an unnecessary administrative change. He said Jayapur was one of the oldest and most important towns in the region and argued that the creation of a separate postal division for Nabarangpur did not require Jayapur to be included in it.
Nanda also called for the existing arrangement to be retained. He said a new postal division should strengthen services and administrative efficiency, but argued that shifting Jayapur to Nabarangpur was difficult to justify and that local concerns should be considered.
Residents have raised similar objections, saying a change in postal jurisdiction could inconvenience the public. Their concerns centre on whether administrative restructuring would alter the way residents access postal services or interact with local offices, although the report does not specify any proposed change to individual post offices or delivery routes.
Nabarangpur BJP MP Balabhadra Majhi has supported the proposed division. He said the plan should be assessed from an administrative perspective rather than through political or regional considerations. According to Majhi, the objective is to ensure better supervision, faster delivery of services and greater convenience for the public.
Majhi also said postal jurisdiction should not be confused with district boundaries. He added that the restructuring could address operational difficulties in existing divisions and improve monitoring of postal services in remote and tribal-dominated areas.
Departmental figures cited in the proposal show that the Koraput postal division currently covers Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts and has 625 post offices. The Kalahandi postal division covers Kalahandi and Nuapada districts and has 568 post offices.
The Department of Posts has cited improved supervision, balanced workload distribution and better service delivery in remote areas as the reasons for proposing the new arrangement. The proposal remains under consideration by the Directorate of Posts in New Delhi, which is expected to take the final decision.
