No backup power at GPO

The General Post Office complex built at a cost of millions of rupees has no generator in the event of a power failure. The former building that houses the letter sorting and distribution unit has a small generator but it takes about half an hour to get it started.

Despite the fact that the hall at the GPO is hired at Rs. 25,000 per day there is no backup power. When contacted Postal officials said they had thought of ordering one and were waiting until the procedure was sanctioned. Postal Union officials who did not want to be named said that with one month’s income from hiring the hall, an automatic generator for supplying electricity to the old and the new buildings could be provided.

They said the adjoining Telecom Building had its own power supply. If the power supply fails during the early morning hours there is much inconvenience in the old building where sorting of letters from all over the country is handled. Recently, during a power failure, a lighted candle fell on a heap of letters and only the quick action of a vigilant sorter saved many letters from being burnt. Officials say a generator at the General Post Office is a must, as it is the largest after Colombo’s GPO.