- The Railway Board has urged officials to stop the use of Dak messengers, a practice dating back to the colonial era, and instead use video conferencing for any communication.
- With train operations suspended, the Railways saw its revenue slide by nearly 58 percent in May. The allowances of the hand-picked personal and dak messengers, apart from their salaries, were a major burden on establishment cost.
- Dak messenger and personal messenger are picked from office peons to play what was considered a crucial role up until recently of ferrying “secret” and “confidential” messages within the Railways, between departments, and up and down the hierarchy.