All Women Courier Services
All Women Courier Service “Dinamthorum Couriers”
When I joined Sivaganga district as the District Collector in 2003, Mr. Chandrasekaran IAS, who was then the ADRD, Directorate of Rural Development, telephoned me and asked me whether I would be willing to meet with his friend one Mr.SK. Rajendran MD of Vishpra International, who had a great idea up his sleeve! I readily agreed. So when Mr.SK.Rajendran, met me, I was immediately impressed with his idea of starting a Courier Service, which would be run by women only. Being a former Executive Director of the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd, it was a cakewalk for us to start implementing the innovation. We picked up girls literally off the streets of Sivaganga (They were flower sellers), and started organizing them into Self Help Groups (SHGs). Dr. Regina Papa, then Director and Head of the Department of Women’s Studies, Karaikudi University, helped us a lot by imparting an EDP programme for them. The P.O DRDA, Mr.Vidyasagar and the P.O Mahalir Thittam were also of great help. TNSTC also helped us by allowing the courier packages to be transported through their buses. But soon, I was transferred, and my Successor Dr. Radhakrishnan IAS also patronized the groups. I had ensured that all Government Tapals would be routed only through this courier service. I also invited the wrath of the Postal Department, as evidenced by the letter from the CPMG to the then Chief Secretary Mrs.Lakshmi Pranesh IAS. The Courier Service spread its wings to other districts, thanks to the patronage of those District Collector’s, of Madurai (Dr.Chandramohan IAS,) Trichy etc. But I am told by MR.SK Rajendran that it hit a wall in Coimbatore when the PO DRDA, Coimbatore felt that instead of using the private agency led by Mr.SK Rajendran, the DRDA could themselves run it! And then started the slide……It ran for about 4 years…
I still consider this a great social innovation, where the Government (with no costs involved, except coordination and support) and the private sector joined hands together to create an enterprise that would ultimately help poor girls earn a decent living.