Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday sought a heritage tag for the 126-year-old Jharsuguda Post Office building.
In a letter to his cabinet colleague Ashwini Vaishnaw, also a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, Dharmendra stressed restoration, maintenance and re-operationalization of the post office while mentioning a petition received from Tankadhar Tripathy for the same.
“It is understood that the Jharsuguda Post Office was established in 1895 after the commissioning of the Jharsuguda Railway Station on Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) line. This 126-year-old post office has played a pivotal role in the modern history of Jharsuguda since the Indian freedom movement till its establishment as a major commercial hub in Western Odisha,” he wrote.
The Union Minister said that 36 such Heritage Post Office buildings are being maintained by India Post across Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“Keeping in mind the grand heritage of the Jharsuguda Post Office building which dates back to 1895 and its incalculable contribution to the development of Jharsuguda, I seek your personal intervention in directing officials of India Post for declaration of Jharsuguda Post Office as a ‘Heritage Post Office Building’ and undertaking suitable efforts for its restoration and maintenance,” he added.