General Post Office, Kolkata
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The General Post Office, Kolkata is the central post office of the city of
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and the chief post office of
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
. The post office handles most of the city's inbound and outbound mail and parcels. Situated in the
B. B. D. Bagh B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
area, the imposing structure of the GPO is one of the landmarks in the city. Kolkata GPO is one of the five Philatelic Bureaus in the country (others being Mumbai GPO, Chennai GPO, Parliament Street, and
New Delhi GPO New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
) that are authorised to sell the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
stamps.


History

The site where the GPO is located was actually the site of the first Fort William. An alley beside the post office was the site of the guardhouse that housed the infamous 1756 Black Hole of Calcutta (1756). The General Post Office was designed in 1864 by Walter B. Grenville (1819-1874), who acted as consulting architect to the government of India from 1863 to 1868. The staircase at the eastern side of the GPO features a brass plate, which marks the eastern end of the Old Fort William. This is probably the only remaining of the ancient fort of Calcutta. Recently a marble plaque has been installed on the Eastern walls of GPO, which highlight the Brass Plate. To the north of the GPO is the Kolkata Collectorate, which was once the office of the regional ‘Collector’, a designation invented by the British Government after 1857 to replace the traditional Zamindars.


Building

The GPO is notable for its imposing high domed roof (rising over 220 feet) and tall Ionic-
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
pillars. A postal museum that was built in 1884 displays a collection of artefacts and
stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
. The
Philatelic Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...
Bureau is located on the southwestern end of the building.


Location

It is located on Netaji Subhas Road in
B. B. D. Bagh B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
area of Kolkata. The location is very near to BBD Bag Railway Station.


Gallery

File:KolkataGPO1.JPG, Kolkata GPO with some ongoing restoration work File:Calcutta GPO.JPG, Kolkata GPO Dusk View File:Lal Dighi (Red Pool), Tank Square, Kolkata, India.jpg, Remote view from Lal Dighi File:KOLKATA G.P.O.jpg, Kolkata GPO Night View


See also

*
Indian Postal Service India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...


External links


Postage stamp on GPO
Tourist attractions in Kolkata Buildings and structures in Kolkata K Government buildings in West Bengal {{Philately-stub