This Postman Walked 15km Every Day for 30 Years to Deliver Mail & Was Chased by Wild Animals

By Ameera Rosli  •  14 Jul 2020 in News

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We’ve read many tales of dedicated people throughout these past few months when it comes to those on the front-lines. However, it is rare to hear stories about those who aren’t as celebrated in the media despite their sincere and undeterred effort to maintain normalcy in today’s chaotic climate.

With that, meet D Sivan, a 66-year-old postman who has been sending letters for 30 years to inaccessible areas in Tamil Nadu. However, this man is no regular postman, for he treks 15km a day, everyday, to accomplish his task of delivering mail.

His job is vital to the villagers since he delivers a variety of mail, ranging from love letters, obituaries and even the precious pension money. One villager said, “We always offer him tea, but he declines and offers to buy us some instead.”

Since these remote areas are tucked within terrains and the lush forests of Coonoor, every day is a trekking journey for D Sivan. On most days, he even has to outrun wild animals like elephants, gaurs and bears. Yeah, D Sivan’s job is the real life version of The Jungle Book sans the adorable and friendly animal sidekicks.

The dedicated postman recently retired his trekking boots last week and was met with unanimous praise on social media after a Twitter user by the username @supriyasahuias posted his story, which then went viral. The reason for his retirement would be the boom of social media and the internet which cuts out the middle-man, postmen, when it comes to communication.

Postman D. Sivan walked 15 kms everyday through thick forests to deliver mail in inaccessible areas in Coonoor.Chased by wild elephants,bears, gaurs,crossing slippery streams&waterfalls he did his duty with utmost dedication for 30 years till he retired last week-Dinamalar,Hindu pic.twitter.com/YY1fIoB2jj

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) July 8, 2020

After 30 years, D Sivan’s last drawn monthly salary was a modest amount of Rs12,000 (RM680.20) for his service. Before his last walk as a postman, D Sivan told The Hindu, “I enjoy serving the people, and I will do that until I retire.”

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