Protests erupt in Belghoria over proposed merger of two post offices
The Statesman | 26 July 2025
A large-scale protest broke out in Kolkata’s Belghoria area on Friday following reports of a proposed merger between the busy East Belghoria post office and the smaller, dilapidated Udaypur post office in nearby Nimta.
The unrest prompted a significant deployment of police personnel, RAF and combat forces to control the crowd, though postal authorities have yet to officially confirm any merger plans. Hundreds of residents, including senior citizens, gathered outside the East Belghoria post office — located just after the Belghoria flyover — and locked its gates in protest, demanding that the two post offices continue to operate independently. Protesters claimed that merging the two facilities would severely disrupt services across a wide catchment area, forcing people to travel longer distances and wait extended periods for routine services.
“The East Belghoria post office is one of the busiest in the region and serves a large population,” said a local resident. “Merging it with the poorly maintained Udaypur office, which lacks even basic infrastructure like toilets, will be a disaster for the public.”
Police and an RAF team from the local Belgharia station arrived at the scene and forcibly opened the locked premises to restore order. The protest created considerable tension in the area, though no reports of violence or injury were filed. Residents of surrounding localities — including Jatin Das Road, Nandan Nagar, Kalcher More, Alipur, Old Nimta Road, and Purba Para — joined the protest. Many submitted signed petitions to senior officials from the Department of Posts, who arrived on-site to assess the situation. “The work that currently takes one hour will take four hours if this merger happens. Both time and accessibility will suffer,” said a senior citizen participating in the demonstration. “We appeal to everyone to come together and resist this move.”
The protestors have called for continued demonstrations and further submission of grievances to authorities. They have also urged local media to report on the matter and amplify public concerns. Despite the unrest, the postal department has not issued any formal statement confirming or denying the merger. However, tensions remain high in Belghoria as residents prepare for renewed agitation if their demands are not addressed.