Thousands of national flags that have been received at post offices across Dakshina Kannada as a part of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign under ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ are not in a marketable condition. From the beginning of August till Saturday, over 30,000 polyester-made tricolors from different vendors in Gujarat were received by the postal department. Sources reveal that thousands of these products have sewing or cutting defects. Some of the saffron, white and green stripes are not in equal proportion, others don’t conform to the 3:2 ratio and the Ashok Chakra is not in the right place. Some are even in torn condition. Directions have been given to the post offices to endorse the sale of tricolors and return those flags which have been rejected by customers.
When news reached the officials’ ears, they asked staff at the counters to be vigilant while handing the flags to customers. One of the post office staff members in Mangaluru shared that they are told to not sell any defective flag and check twice before giving any flag to the customers.
The bigger concern comes with bulk sales. Post offices in Puttur, Kokkada, Madanthyar, Belthangady and Surathkal have had people purchasing flags in bulk, in the past two days. Staff, there are simply handing over the flags without inspecting if there is any defect. An anonymous officer asked how they were supposed to check thousands of flags. He said the staff would definitely replace the bad ones with proper ones if the customers return, but checking every individual piece is too difficult.
N Sriharsha, Senior Superintendent of Posts, Mangaluru Division, said that they had segregated the good flags from the defective ones in the first consignment and only sold the proper ones. In the second consignment of 20,000 flags, almost all are in good condition, he shared.
Post offices are ordered to keep the flag sale counters open even on general holidays and Sundays till 15th August. This is especially because officers are expecting a big rush a couple of days before Independence day from new customers, and the old ones who want to replace the defective ones.
Also Read : Bamboo Shortage For Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign
