Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal, has called for a serious reflection on the role post offices play and called for their improvement.
Inaugurating the three-day State-level philatelic exhibition under the banner “Gandhipex 2019” to highlight the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi here on Friday, he said that post offices were key to connecting the government and the people. Pointing out that maintenance of the premises did not mean spending on expensive structures, he said even with minimum facilities, the services could be rendered and the premises maintained.
Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi recalled how the Mahatma used the postal services when he was jailed during the freedom struggle.
He appealed to schoolchildren present in large numbers at the venue to participate in various competitions and display their collections.
“Use postcards, inland letters and stamps to write to friends and teachers and make pen friends. Every school-going child should be a philatelist. Postal stamps and the envelopes on which they were affixed should be preserved with equal importance as they both carry history of time,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi disagreed with the general perception that the postal department was on its way out in the context of the digital facilities. The postal department would never become obsolete and the services would continue in step with the times. The department would render services in tandem with the new technology as postal services were the cutting edge of the people in the country, he said.
He praised postmen and women and said that they play a sensitive role.
Souvenir released
Earlier, Mr. Gandhi released a souvenir containing pictorial post cards depicting tourist places in Puducherry.
Chief Postmaster General Tamil Nadu postal circle M. Sampath released a special cover depicting “Mahatma, Mahakavi and Aurobindo” on the occasion and it was received by Mr. Gandhi.
Mr. Sampath said that more than 10,000 stamps, 200 philatelic frames and 3,000 First Day Covers issued on Mahatma Gandhi were on display at the exhibition.
Eighty one philatelists from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were showcasing their stamp collections on Mahatma Gandhi at the exhibition, he said.
R. Anand, Postmaster General, Chennai City region, and J. Charukesi, Postmaster General (Mails and Business Development) of the Tamil Nadu postal circle, spoke.
