Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
Related Articles
Museum in heritage structure extended to accommodate more exhibits, including photographs that appeared in journals and periodicals Under the 120-foot-high dome of Kolkata’s General Post Office (GPO), a special postal cover was released on Monday. The event marked 150 years of the GPO. A fresh coat of paint and tiny fairy lights adorned the heritage structure with Corinthian columns on the east and the south, overseeing the Dalhousie square in the city. The historic building was opened to the public on October 2, 1868. “The construction of this building started in 1864. The building was designed by architect Walter B. Granville and in those days Rs. 6.5 lakh was spent on this structure,” Arundhati Ghosh, Chief Post Master General (CPMG), West Bengal Circle, told The Hindu . Describing the GPO as not only an iconic building of the city, but also the biggest working post office of the Kolkata Circle with a revenue of Rs. 4 – 5 crore every month, Ms. Ghosh said that the cost of renovation of the structure came to Rs. 70 lakh. Earlier in day, an extension of the postal museum, housed in the building, was inaugurated. The museum displayed an exhibition of illustrations depicting postmen carrying letters. Titled In the eyes of Artists Abroad , the exhibition includes a picture of bullock carts carrying letters. These photographs were published in several journals and periodicals published in the mid 19th century. Other exhibits in the museum include badges used by postmen, weighing machines and the first postage stamps, printed at the Survey of India office in 1854 and a “Post Office Map of provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa and Arracan” dating back to 1854.
