P.O. Rhenock looks forward to Heritage stamp

RHENOCK, 11 July: The Rhenock Post Office is making a serious bid for recognition as the first post office to be established in Sikkim. A catalog of Rhenock’s famed Chandra Nursery [started in 1910], in the possession of Ganesh Kumar Pradhan, proprietor of Ram Gauri Sangralaya [a registered museum at Rhenock], has the stamped seal of the Rhenock Post Office imprinted on it. While the seal is of 1930, the Nursery started in 1910, always wrote Rhenock Post Office in its address.

“If the seal of Rhenock Post Office has been stamped on the catalog and the catalog, as the date inside suggests was printed in 1930, while the Nursery itself was started in 1910, then one can come to the conclusion that the Rhenock Post Office was already established during that time,” said Ganesh Kumar Pradhan, while speaking to media persons, today. I am also in possession of receipts and dispatches of Money Orders [MO] from Rhenock Post Office dating back to 1935-1937, he added.
“When I was 10 years old, this Rhenock Post Office was already in existence and I remember the fire at 1957 that destroyed the old Post Office,” stated Dal Bahadur Pradhan, an 85-year-old resident of Rhenock. After the fire, the Post Office was shifted to the living quarters of the Post Master nearby till the construction of a new Post Office.
He was fully supported by 91-year-old, Mandal Tshagu Tshering Bhutia, who added that he remembered visiting the IT office of the Political Officer at Yatung in Tibet, which he had visited through the Jelepla Trade Route. “I still remember flowers being sent through parcels from the famous Chandra Nursery, right here from Rhenock, which sadly has now closed down,” he said and added that he also remembered the route which went through Rongli-Phademchen-Kupup-Jelepla right up to Lhasa in Tibet.
A local writer and film producer RK Pradhan, born in 1953, giving his thoughts in support stated that he remembered the Bengali Post Master Mr. Saha, who lived in the staff quarters opposite his house, as his daughter used to be his friend as a child. He also added that the money collected at the Post Office was taken to the Rhenock Thana for safe-keeping and then brought back after the Post Office reopened the next morning.
“Tibetan ‘Dollars’ [Silver coins] used to be put in mailbags and along with other letters, parcels and telegrams used to be taken by the postman who had a spear and a bell for identity from the Rhenock Post Office,” he said and added that after Gangtok, Rhenock was the second next important town during that time and also an important trade route as traders used to came and stay at the camping grounds along with their mules.
Incidentally, renowned Nepali writer Shiva Kumar Rai [born 26 July, 1919] was also born in the living quarters of the Rhenock Post Office as his father Dhoj Bir Rai was the Post Master of Rhenock Post Office during that time, informed KK Thapa, a retired local teacher.
When asked about the possibility of the Post Office being granted ‘Heritage’ status by the Government of India, all of them endorsed it in unison and said that it would be a very proud moment for all the people of Rhenock.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha MP PD Rai, along with a 12-member Parliamentary Committee on Information & Technology led by its Chairman MP Achuthan visited both the Rhenock and Rangpo post offices recently.
“Rhenock post office was perhaps the first one to be established in Sikkim before 1927. This post office was important from the point of view of the Jelepla pass and trade with Tibet, which commenced in full flow after the Young Husband expedition of 1903-04, hence, this post office has real historical value,” the MP had stated.
“Today, in view of the Government of Sikkim’s thrust towards rural tourism, that value can be monetized by the local people for the purposes of tourism. If the post office can be spruced up and proper premises made or upgraded then it can be declared as a Heritage Post Office, along with the Rangpo one. This route can then be sold as a destination and these post offices can be made into attractions,” he adds.
This could work as a package along with Aritar, he said, explaining that Aritar is already an upcoming destination and the first police outpost in Sikkim was also established there.
“The view of the Standing Committee of Parliament on IT, which visited Sikkim recently, is positive since there is no major giveaway and hence can be done easily. It is also seen as very important in the context of Sikkim being a strategic border state. They have also seen the great potential tourism value after experiencing the same during their visit,” the MP added.
The Rhenock Post Office which has the status of a Sub Post Office is still running smoothly at present with Ashok Rai as the Sub Post Master.