The 250th anniversary celebration of the General Post Office (GPO) was flagged off with the unveiling of a logo on Tuesday at Yogayog Bhawan.
Established in Fort William on March 31, 1774, by Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of Bengal, the GPO shifted locations till 1868.
One previous site was on Old Post Office Street, running parallel to the high court, adjacent to Town Hall. The current GPO building was opened on October 2, 1868.
While the 150th anniversary of the current GPO was marked in 2018, chief postmaster general, West Bengal circle, Niraj Kumar, explained that it is the birth of the GPO that is now being celebrated.
“We will mark this momentous occasion with several programmes from March 14 to 19,” Kumar said.
The guests at the programme unveil postcards on the occasion.
An exhibition on the “journey of mail” through 3D models, postage stamps and artefacts will be opened by the governor at the Rotunda on the first day, followed by a special cover on 250 years of the Calcutta GPO and a gold-plated replica of a stamp issued in 1968, the GPO’s centenary year.
Another exhibition will be held on board an Esplanade-Gariahat tramcar from March 15.
Other special covers on the grand clock, on post boxes, on lanterns, badges and spears of runners will also be launched. A heritage walk will be held on March 17 and a documentary film is being made.
Entries for photography, painting and sculpture design contests on the GPO will be accepted till March 5. The prizes will be handed out at the closing ceremony on March 19.