Thousands open post office accounts in Kakinada

KAKINADA: A stampede-like situation prevailed at the main post office on Wednesday with hundreds of people thronging to open savings accounts with rumours flying the ‘ill-gotten’ wealth of politicians would be credited to the accounts of ordinary individuals, who have savings accounts in post offices.Serpentine queues created traffic jams on the busy main road as rumour-mongers circulated rumours that amounts would be credited to their accounts ranging from `25,000 to `1 lakh and the process had already begun in Vijayawada.People were swayed by talk that the wealth of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Gali Janardhan Reddy and Satya Sai Trust will be distributed among those having post office accounts.The sudden rush made some agents make a quick buck by selling application forms for opening accounts at `50 each and charging an equal amount for filling application forms.Though officials told them they should not expect such ‘windfall’, many went ahead and opened accounts as the minimum balance required is only `50.“During the last three days, we have opened 390 accounts,” head postmaster Manikyala Rao said.He added, “Those who came to us told us they will get money in their accounts if they opened them.Though we tried to tell them they should not believe rumours, they did not listen to us,” he said.