Telegram gets a warm goodbye

Last time so many telegrams were booked in a day was in 2006-07 when 21,785 telegrams were booked on an average per day

The scenes across telegraph offices in the country on Sunday reminded one of the good old days as around 20,000 telegrams were sent from all across India on its last day. Telegram took a leap into books of history as people from all quarters of life thronged the 75 telegraph offices situated all over the country.

The last time so many telegrams were booked in a day was six years ago in 2006-07 when 21,785 telegrams were booked on an average per day. Since then, the telegraph office, which runs under the state-run Bhartiya Sanchar Nagar Limited (BSNL) saw a decline the number of telegrams being booked per day. In 2012-13, it reduced to 5412 telegrams being sent in a day on an average.

"The telegram got its undue farewell as people came in large numbers to become a part of the history and to attach the memory of sending a telegram to their lifeline", said Shameem Akhtar, senior general manager for telegraph services at BSNL.

Looking at the massive response the Central Telegraph Office at New Delhi got with 2,200 telegrams being sent from the office, the officials decided to extend the deadline by an hour to 11pm.

The last telegram was sent to Rahul Gandhi by one Ashwini Mishra, confirmed the BSNL officials. According to the sources, last five telegrams which were sent will be preserved by the department.

BSNL in June had decided to put curtains to the 163-year-old service as the department had incurred heavy loss of Rs 1,473 crore since 2006-07. The number of telegrams being sent out had declined sharply over the years from 21,785 telegrams a day in 2006-07 to 5412 telegrams a day on an average in the first half of 2012-13.