Visakhapatnam: The joy of tearing off an inland cover to go through the content written by a dear friend or the delight of encapsulating recent adventures and secret discoveries while compiling a letter to a sibling or the excitement of receiving a postcard or a greeting card from a dearie or the mere sight of a postman carrying a bunch of letters pedalling through the streets,a host of nostalgic moments are associated with the post office. Decades back, when the mode of communication took a postal route, things were pretty slow but emotionally-exhilarating, more importantly, much closer to the ‘real’ world. However, the ‘once upon a time’ ink-paper mode of communication has now been replaced with the fleeting digital world. In the age of instant messaging wherein accessing information from across the world is just a click away, the concept of an inland letter appears to be quite unfamiliar among the younger generation. To revoke the decades-old practice of communication and make post offices an aesthetically-appealing hangout zone for the Gen Z, the India Post has come up with the concept of Gen Z-themed post offices.

One such post office is receiving finishing touches at the Andhra University south campus. The redesigned facility is getting readied, following the ones set up in IIT-Delhi and IIT-Gandhinagar campuses. Besides accessing information about the department of posts’ services, schemes and communication modes, people can hangout for a while at the venue, flippingthrough books over a ‘cuppa’ as amenities such as Wi-Fi, cafeteria and a mini library will be made available at the premises.

Postmaster General, Visakhapatnam Region VS Jayasankar informs that a similar redesigned post offices will soon be opened in Guntur, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam. “The renovated one in Vizag is scheduled to be inaugurated on December 9. The thematic post offices, initiated in alignment with Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia’s vision, aims to convert traditional post offices into youth-driven spaces, providing a vibrant, technology-enabled zones while retaining the trust and legacy of the India Post,” shares Jayasankar with The Hans India.

The revamping exercise is part of the national endeavour that aims to redesign 46 existing post offices located in educational institutions across the country. And the target is to complete them maximum by mid-December.