After 30 years, iconic Mumbai General Post Office building to regain glory

Postmaster General (Mumbai region) Swati Pandey outside the GPO

After almost 30 years, the outer plaster of the iconic Mumbai General Post Office building is being peeled off to reveal the beautiful old yellow Kurla basalt bricks. The dome and the other finer details of the majestic building will slowly be restored to their original glory. Curated with the help of consultants from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, the mega restoration took off earlier this month and is expected to be completed in four years. Conservation firm Savani Heritage won the bid for the work.

Work going on at the GPO. Pics/Suresh Karkera

"Yes. The restoration work had been pending and my challenge was to get the project started. It is our team's responsibility to keep the essence of the GPO building and restore it to its original glory. The building not only speaks of the archaeological artistry and brilliance of bygone days but also as a working post office which sees almost 5,000 footfalls every single day," Postmaster General Mumbai Region Swati Pandey, who initiated the restoration project, told mid-day. "It indeed now feels absolutely overwhelming to see the wheels set in motion," she added.

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The renovated entrance to the GPO

The construction of the iconic building designed by British architect John Begg in 1904 was completed in March 1913 at a cost of '18,09,000. Its dome was modelled on the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur, Karnataka.

The restoration work at the GPO began earlier this month

As per postal archives, the building, housed in a compound, is spread over 1,20,000 square feet with an end-to-end length of 523 feet. The central hall with the dome rises up to 120 feet and has a diameter of 65 feet. Pandey said the restoration will take about four years and will cost nearly Rs 22 crore.