After getting a good response last year, the Pune GPO has now made the 'My stamp' personalised commemorative postal stamps a permanent feature for the public from Monday; has received over 150 orders in just three days
What would it take to join the ranks of legends like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and now Sachin Tendulkar? Just a photo and Rs 300, said the philatelic bureau of the Pune GPO.
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Stamping their mark: Some of the buyers with sheets of their postage stamp with their photos on it
The ‘My Stamp’ scheme launched by the Pune GPO on Monday gives the common man an opportunity to see his own picture on the postage
stamps.u00a0What’s more, you can use these personalized stamps like the other stamps for your postal communication, be it letters, greeting cards or wedding invites.
“Postal stamps always carry the photographs of legends who are not amidst us anymore, with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, but now even the common man can have his photograph printed on a stamp under this unique scheme,” said H J Kakade, senior postmaster at the Pune GPO, who was recently awarded the Mahatma Phule Talent Research Award by the Mahatma Phule Academy for this novel idea.
“All you need to do is carry a hard copy or a soft copy of your photograph or get it clicked at the post office, fill out an order form and pay Rs 300 and get a sheet of 12 stamps of denomination Rs 5 each within ten minutes with your own photo printed alongside the selected commemorative postage stamp. Corporate companies too can get their logos printed on the stamps, but they will have to place a minimum order of 500 sheets,” he added.
“The scheme has already attracted many customers,” said Narendra Lagwankar, in charge of the My Stamp section at Pune GPO. u00a0“We have received around 150 orders in just three days since the launch of the scheme. We have also received a few corporate enquiries also,” said Lagwankar.
With the advent of the Internet, and people turning their backs on snail mail to communicate, this scheme aims to breathe life into the postal department.
“This scheme might help revive the lost glory of the postal department, as people will start thinking of sending mails through post.
This will even surprise the recipients when they see the picture of their loved ones affixed on the letters,” said Dr Madhukar Ghanekar, who got his sheet of personalised stamps made recently.u00a0“This is a new way of reaching out to people. We get a new identification. This is a brilliant scheme initiated by the Pune GPO,” said Dr Sandeep Jaibahar, another proud customer of the scheme.
D M Kale, Advocate, Bombay High Court, said, “Next time I send a letter through post, this personalised stamp will certainly give it a more personal touch.”
One can also choose images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife or images of other animals and birds to be printed as thumbnails on the personalised stamps.
Did you know?
A concept popular in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, it was first introduced in India in 2011 during the World Philatelic Exhibition called ‘INDIPEX- 2011’ held in Delhi and Maharashtra at ‘Mahapex-2012’ held at Pune in January 2012.
There was a considerable demand for it during the exhibition and this enthusiasmu00a0from the stamp lovers prompted India Post to introduce ‘My Stamp’ in the Philatelic Bureaus and important counters across India.u00a0This scheme has also been introduced at the Mumbai GPO as well as the airport post office counter at Mumbai domestic airport.u00a0
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