Have you heard about the 200-year-old floating post office?

Srinagar: We have all heard about floating gardens, islands and houseboats but how about a floating post office? In Kashmir’s Famous Dal Lake, a floating post office is situated which is considered to be the only one in the whole world.

The floating post office is two centuries old and had commenced during the British era. Delivery of letters and couriers are still carried out to the people living on the lake. The delivery of the post is made by a postman while traveling in a shikara.

Every service of the Post office is made possible at this floating post office on Dal Lake while being afloat. They use a special seal of a shikara along with a boatman to put on the envelope.

 

The Post Master Farooq Ahmad said, ‘This is a 200-year-old post office from even before the Maharaja’s time to British Era. It was finally called a floating post office. There is no change in the number of posts sent across. When there is tourist flow, we don’t have time to even talk. Thousands of People come to take pictures in this Post office. They can buy special covers, postcards and stamps from here. The Postman hires a shikara and delivers the letter to houseboats. This has been going on for years and still continues.’

A postman, named Mohd Ismail has been working for years with the India Post. He has been delivering letters every day to people living on the lake. He says that it is time-consuming to take a shikara and go to different houseboats, but the charm of doing so is what he likes the most.

The floating post office has a collection of old postage stamps as well as a small museum, which was damaged in the 2014 floods.