India Post today marked the centenary of Mumbai GPO building, with the release of Commemorative Postage Stamp by Ms P. Gopinath, Secretary (Posts) and Chairperson, Postal Services Board, Government of India, at a function held in a precincts of the heritage building.
As of the celebration, India Post has also orgnaised a philatelic exhibition on Mumbai at ground floor of the GPO.
GPO, through the ages
General
Post Office, Mumbai was established in the year 1794 by the then
Postmaster General for Bombay Presidency, Charles Elphinstone.
Strategically located near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus and
the Sea Port to allow quick transfer of mail from overseas and inland,
this office has been serving the common man for over 200 years.
The present GPO building was designed by John Begg, Consulting Architect and the construction was completed in 1913.
The
building is a magnificent example of the Indo-Saracenic style adopted
by the British in India. Built in local grey Kurla Basalt with dressings
of yellow stone from Malad and white stone from Dhragandhara, the
architecture reflects a strong influence of Islamic architecture in its
skyline dominated by domes and minarets.
The
most remarkable feature of the interior of the GPO is its central dome,
which has distinctive3 resemblance to the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur. It has
a diameter of 65 feet, which is the largest in the city. Turrets and
minarets resemble Moghul Architecture.
Mumbai GPO to offer core banking services soon.
The
business hall of Mumbai GPO is unique with 101 counters and serves
about 40,000 customers a day. The renovated portion of Mumbai GPO known
as ‘Bicentenary Hall”occupies 10,000 sq.ft. area and has been provided
with modern amenities like computerised savings bank, multipurpose
counter machines etc.
Today,
Mumbai GPO is counted among the major post offices in the country
offering a bouquet of traditional and modern services. It is a one
stop-shop for all postal services and can truly be called a ‘Post
Mall’.
Mumbai
GPO will soon be offering Core Banking Services for its esteemed
customers with a state of the art ATM. Very soon Mumbai GPO will be
awarded ISO certification from Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)
