The Hindu : Front Page : Century-old post office to close down

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Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008
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Century-old post office to close down

R. Srikanth

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

TIME’S UP: The 109-year-old Santhome post office.

CHENNAI: The Santhome post office, more than a hundred years old, will close down on Wednesday to be merged with the Mylapore post office.

Situated at the junction of Kamarajar Salai and Kutchery Road, it is shutting shop as the building in which it is located is in a rundown state.

It has been in existence for more than 109 years, an official at the post office said. Among other services, it offered Speed Post and savings bank account operation.

A senior official at the Anna Road Head Post Office said the Thanjavur Diocese of the Catholic Church, which owns the building, asked the post office to vacate. Informed sources in the Thanjavur Diocese mentioned concerns about the safety of the users of the building.

A senior official of the Department of Posts said the Mylapore post office, with which the post office is being merged, is less than 500 metres away.

The move would not create any hardship to users, the official said.

T.S. Thiagarajan, a senior citizen who has a savings account at the post office, said it is a pity that one of the oldest such facilities was being closed.

Noting that the building had a lot of woodwork, he added that it was painful to see the curtains coming down on it.

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