Mumbai gets its first all-women post office

Mumbai’s first Mahila Dak Ghar, a post office entirely operated by women staff, was inaugurated in Mumbai on Friday.

Located at New Customs House in South Mumbai, the post office was inaugurated by post secretary and postal services board chairperson P Gopinath. As of now, 12 female employees will run the Mahila Dak Ghar, headed by a senior superintendent of posts, an official statement said today.

The post office will offer both traditional and modern postal services like booking of registered and speed post articles, e-money order, Western Union Money Transfer, e-payment of utility bills of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport and Mahanagar Gas Ltd, besides the post office savings bank transactions.

Currently, the Maharashtra postal circle has a total staff strength of 26,468, out of which 5,008 are women. "As a mark of respect to the women of Maharashtra, we decided to launch the first Mahila Dak Ghar in this circle in Mumbai," Chief Post Master General (Maharashtra and Goa Circle) K C Mishra said.

Earlier this year, on the occasion of the International Women's Day on March 8, Minister for Communication and IT Kapil Sibal had inaugurated country's first all-women post office in New Delhi. He had said more such offices would be opened in the country, especially in the metro cities.

Besides, India Post also released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the centenary of the Mumbai General Post Office building. The GPO was established in 1794 by the then Postmaster General for Bombay Presidency, Charles Elphinstone.