When he came to the city eight years ago, he could send only Rs 10,000 a year. Two years ago, he brought his wife and two children to the big city so that “they get better education and learn English and Maths and study among the children of rich people.”

Prosenjit Sarkar, from West Bengal, who runs a roadside flower shop near the post-office in the same Sector, points to the NTPC office compound across. “It is this place that has made it possible for me to keep my family well. My customers are from NTPC and whatever I save is sent back home.”

Pradhan calls the post office “courier service agency for the poor” and says, “it is more reliable.”

Laxman Jha, head of the Bihari Unnati Samiti in Sector-51, claims that hundreds of people from the state are running paan shops in the city. “One just needs a small colony to set up a shop. There is scope for two paan shops for a colony with 200 flats,” he says.

The postal department is happy with the migrant boom. It gets around Rs 1.8 crore as commission from just money orders every year. Comparing the postal department to an MNC, Dubey says, “We make huge profits too. Just that our market is what nobody cares to look at.”

Mapping Noida’s Money Orders

BIHAR: 50 per cent, mostly to Purnea, Patna, Samastipur, Hajipur, Madhubani, Siwan and Chhapra

WEST BENGAL: 15 per cent

CHHATTISGARH: 10 per cent

... contd.