Free entrance to Postal Museum for three months

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

The public can visit the Post and Telecommunication Ministry museum free for three months.

Adults will be charged Rs. 5 after three months while schoolchildren will be admitted free, Post Museum Curator K. A. U. R. Kariyapperuma said.

The Post and Telecommunication Ministry had established a national level museum to showcase the history of the post and telecommunication sector.

The museum is at the ground floor of the Post and Telecommunication Ministry, D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10. The museum is open from 9am to 4 pm on weekdays, Kariyapperuma said.

The Ministry has planned to issue a special ticket for visitors. In the middle of the ticket there will be a Rs. five stamp with data along with an eye catching layout.

Visitors can keep the ticket as a memento, Post and Telecommunication Minister Jeewan Kumaratunga said. The museum exhibits all methods and instruments used in the post and telecommunication sector.

Arrangements have been made to make visitors aware of the latest technology used in the post and telecommunication sector, the Minister said. The museum is separated to eight sections - the beginning of communication, history of post and telecommunication, vehicles and equipment used to transport mail, uniforms of postmen, mail boxes, communication equipment including telephones and telegraph machines..

In the stamp section, the fist local stamp, the first world stamp, Sterling Pound 50,000, the most valuable stamp ever issued in Sri Lanka are displayed.

The Postal Department which caters to most of the communication needs of the people had been the communicator closest to the urban and rural dwellers from ancient times.

The postal museum depicts the past glory of the department and technological changes, ways and methods in the post and telecommunications sector, Minister Kumaratunga added.