BENGALURU: A novel document which could offer a fillip to tourism in the State, ‘Philately Passport’, was launched by the Karnataka Postal Circle at GPO Bengaluru. It inspires residents to visit landmarks in Karnataka and get stamps of the spot cancelled at the post office nearest to it.
Launched on January 25, it is available in English, Kannada and Hindi at all the philatelic bureaus of the State - Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru and Belagavi. A total of 80 permanent pictorial cancellations (PPCs) have been released; PPC refers to a unique postmark that features an image of a significant site, person or event pertaining to the State.
Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, Rajendra S Kumar told TNIE, “The first PPC of Karnataka was released at Badami on September 29, 1987. At least one PPC has been released since then for each district, and we have 80 of them until December 31, 2024.”
The passport will have a brief description of the historical site or event on the left hand pages, where the PPC issued will also be imprinted. The passport costs Rs 550 and is on sale at the four philatelic bureaus.
“For instance, a traveller who buys a stamp of Vidhana Soudha can later visit the landmark and get a cancellation at the post office there,” he said. To incentivise the public to participate in this initiative, the Circle plans to honour those who complete the Philately Passport with all 80 cancellations before National Tourism Day next year.
The department released the book ‘Ramayana on Stamps’ penned by M Lokeshwar Rao, retired IFS officer who served as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in Nagaland.