Valley’s first: Post offices function on Sunday

For the first time in Kashmir, post offices in several areas functioned normally and delivered mails on 10 th March-2013  — despite it being a Sunday.

Employees of a post office in Kashmir zone at work on Sunday. A Tribune photo

As the Valley witnessed frequent shutdowns and imposition of curfew in the aftermath of the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru last month, Chief Postmaster General, J&K circle, John Samuel said the department had kept all post offices open in Srinagar city and north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

“As a special case, we kept the post offices open in Srinagar and Baramulla today as work has remained affected in view of the curfew and restrictions. We have kept post offices open on a Sunday for the first time in the history of Kashmir,” Samuel told The Tribune.

“I don’t think if anywhere in India post offices have remained open on a Sunday,” Samuel said.

The old city areas and north Kashmir have remained the worst affected in the aftermath of Afzal’s execution. Afzal hailed from Jageer village in Baramulla.

Amid the recent protests, shutdowns and restrictions, the Department of Posts (DoP) also remained in news last month for delivering two mails to Afzal’s family from Tihar Jail, New Delhi, where he was executed and later buried. Meanwhile, Samuel said even though the General Post Office (GPO) remained open on Sundays for official work, the department would not deliver mails. “On Sundays usually, only the GPO remains open but we do not deliver mails while other post offices remain shut. However, we walked an extra mile today to tell people that the department can withstand difficulties as other post offices in Srinagar and Baramulla besides the GPO delivered mails today while other works like booking of speed posts and parcels was also done,” he said.

A ‘special’ case

* As the Valley has witnessed frequent shutdowns in the aftermath of the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru last month, the postal department kept all post offices open in Srinagar city and north Kashmir’s Baramulla district “as a special case”

* It was probably for the first time in the country that post offices remained functional on a Sunday