Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

(3) No packet bag should be prescribed or abolished without the concurrence of the Head
of the Circle concerned.
175. Stages and runners’ huts.- On main lines, the letter mail stages will ordinarily be
five or six miles, and the parcel mail stages ten or twelve miles apart. A hut will be provided at
each stage for the accommodation of the runners, and as each parcel mail state will ordinarily be at
every alternate letter mail stage, the same hut will accommodate both the letter and parcel mail
runners. The object of providing huts for runners is to ensure the speedy transmission of the mails
onward from stage to stage by securing the punctual attendance of the runners at their respective
stages when the mails arrive.
176. Branch lines.- The foregoing rules relating to mail lines may be relaxed in the case of
branch lines, i.e. lines which radiate from head offices and large sub-offices connecting them with
less important sub and branch offices in the interior of districts, or lines which diverge from
through main lines. The speed of the mails and the length of the stages on branch lines will be
fixed by the Superintendent. As these lines are of less importance than mail lines, an equally high
rate of speed need not be maintained, and the stages may be longer. A daily mail service is not
always necessary on unimportant branch lines. As a general rule, huts will not be provided for the
accommodation of runners on branch lines.
177. Cross mails. – Cross mails, i.e. mails from branch lines which converge to one point
on a through main line, should be timed to reach the junction of the cross lines before the arrival of
the main line mails, so as to avoid any detention to the latter. Sufficient time should be allowed
between the arrival of the cross mails and the main line mails to permit of the work of sorting,
preparation of mail lists, and closing of bags, when necessary, being done carefully and without
hurry. Mails for branch lines should not be despatched till after the departure of the main line mails
when a prior or simultaneous despatch would result in delay to the main line mails.
178. Protection of mails.- (1) The Superintendent should pay careful attention to the
arrangements made for conveying mails across unbridged streams and rivers, and for carrying
them over difficult roads. The overseers should be made to travel constantly over lines which
present special difficulties to the safe and speedy transit of the mails.
(2) Waterproof bags should invariably be prescribed by the Superintendent for mails exposed to
the weather during the rains.
179. Time statements.- The Superintendent will receive monthly time statements (M.-8)
from the terminal offices of mail lines on which time bills are used. He should note the maximum
excess and calculate and note the average excess, over the prescribed time in transit and see
whether the excess has been satisfactorily explained in the statement. The time statements should
be filed in the Superintendent’s office.
180. Detention to mails .- (1) When prescribed by the Superintendent, the time bills (M-7)
used on all the mail lines or those used on any particular line or lines, will be sent to him daily by
the terminal office. In other cases, whenever a mail is subjected to any unusual detention, the time
bill will be forwarded by first post to the Superintendent by the terminal office. In cases of
detention to the mails, the remarks in the time bills will furnish the Superintendent with
information regarding the cause of delay; and he should take such action as may be necessary. If
no time bill is used on a line, any case of detention to the mails will be reported by the post office
which first observes the delay.
(2) Important cases of detention on main lines should be reported urgently to the
Superintendent, R.M.S. if the R.M.S. is concerned.