After 4-year break, Karnataka postal circle reboots its annual philatelic exhibition
Bengaluru, Dec 4: As part of its ongoing effort to redefine connecting people' in the online era, the Karnataka Postal Circle will be reviving its annual state-level philatelic exhibition, which was last held in 2019 in Mangaluru.
"Ultimately, we want people to rediscover the joy of sending letters and postcards. We believe that this can be achieved by giving them a glimpse of the rich postal heritage of India," Director of Postal Services (HQ) Kaiya Arora told PTI.
The 13th edition, Karnapex 2024, which will be held in Bengaluru between January 5 and January 8, will piece together Karnataka's socio-cultural history through stamps, special covers, special cancellations and pictorial collections, she added.
A cancellation is a postal marking affixed on a stamps or envelopes of India Post to deface the stamp and prevent its re-use. Cancellations come in a variety of designs, shapes, sizes and colors.
"Stamps that are issued to mark historical milestones are nuggets of information and are perfect learning tools," Arora pointed out.
For instance, she said that to commemorate Karnapex 2024, special covers about things and events unique to Karnataka like ali guli manne' and kambala' will be released, thus documenting them for posterity.
The philatelic exhibition, which will showcase 690 rare and unique collections of stamps in total, including those loaned from serious philatelists, will explore different themes every day, she added.
"On January 5, we begin with stamps that document the history and culture of Karnataka. On January 6, it will be science, technology and environment. On January 7, stamps exploring the themes of mental health and sports will be displayed. And on the final day, women empowerment will be the key word," said Arora.
But Karnapex 2024 is much more than stamps, she said.
"We are going all out to draw people out of their homes. So, we have workshops on origami making, letter writing and drawing cartoons. We have a drawing and painting competition as well as a stamp designing competition. We have many interactive events planned too ranging from something traditional like a treasure hunt to innovative ones like digital charkha," said Arora.
The director said part of the reason why the postal department decided to up the outreach game is because the Unboxing Bengaluru' event, which was held during the first half of December, put a spotlight on the quaint postal history of the city.
"Many, for instance, discovered the oldest functional post box in the city, one of the 100 post boxes that Britain shipped to India to establish the postal service in India. This is at Taj West End. And this created a lot of buzz for us, thanks to social media influencers," said Arora.
The exhibition venue will also have stalls for sale of stamps, special covers, coins and other philately related items.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
