Kottayam: The ‘Vishu Kaineettam’ programme introduced by the Postal Department has attracted a huge response.

Under the initiative, people can send ‘kaineettam’ (small gifts of money given by elders to children during the Malayalam festival of Vishu) to their loved ones through post offices across India.

The amounts which could be transferred are Rs 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 or their multiples.

According to the Postal Department, 12,000 people have utilized the facility so far and a total amount of Rs 45 lakh was distributed as ‘kaineettam’ during the last eight days alone.

With post offices remaining closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, postal employees ensured that the money was handed over to recipients by Wednesday. Vishu falls on Friday.

In fact, the Vishu initiative has earned the Postal Department more revenue within a few days than the ‘Gangajal’ scheme which was launched three years ago.

‘Gangajal’ scheme involves distribution, through the Postal Department, of small bottles of holy water collected from the River Ganga in Rishikesh.

Keralite’s idea

Incidentally, the idea of ‘Vishu Kaineettam’ was suggested by an academician from Kerala during the Prime Minister’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme.

He is Dr K Sivaprasad, a faculty member at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in Kochi.

Sivaprasad belongs to the family of the illustrious poet, the late Kodungallur Kunhikuttan Thampuran.

Apart from sharing the idea on ‘Mann ki Baat’, Sivaprasad wrote to Union Minister of Railways and Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw on the proposed scheme.

Soon, the Government of India issued orders to make the ‘Vishu Kaineettam’ facility available at all post offices in the country.