PANAJI
The Goa government has issued a notice for the third time inviting bids for construction of Rs 2.17 crore worth philatelic stamp museum at Mangueshi, Ponda. The decision comes with a surprise for the philatelists, as the president of Goa Philatelic and Numismatic Society (GPNS) claims that their members were not taken into confidence by the government regarding this museum and that the Goa Postal Division is also planning to open a philatelic museum along with GPNS.
The Philatelic Bureau at Panaji Head Post Office was shut down in Goa last month on June 12, depriving Goa of its only philatelic bureau. Meanwhile, the Goa Postal Division along with Goa Philatelic and Numismatic Society (GPNS) have together decided to open a philatelic museum in the capital city. The State will, then, have two philatelic museums, if both start functioning.
“The Goa Philatelic Museum which we plan to open will be housed in a heritage building popularly known as the ‘Tobacco House’ that stands just opposite the head post office in Panaji. This philatelic museum in Goa would be the second in the country, after the National Philatelic Museum in Delhi,” stated Dr Sudhir Jhakere, Senior Superintendent of Post Office, Goa Division.
“This 100-year-old heritage building was first the Tapal Bhavan, having our old regional office and is now idle and free. So, we decided to utilize this space as it is located at a prominent place in Panaji, which has many tourist footfalls,” stated Dr Jhakere.
The GPNS members have volunteered to donate their personal collections of stamps, postal covers, cancellations etc to display at the museum.
“It would be good to have a philatelic museum in Panaji at a central place where most of the tourists, both domestic and foreign visit,” said GPNS president, Dr Ramesh Kumar.
The GPNS has around 60 members in the State who are all very active from the founder member V R Navelcar (85) to Pratik Bhandari, a 16-year old who just passed SSC. “I began collecting stamps at the age of eight, and now have around 10,000 stamps and other objects,” says Pratik who is the only recipient from Goa of the philatelic scholarship under the Prime Minister’s ‘Sparsh’ Yojana.
“The government’s decision to have a philately museum in Manguesh is perplexing. Ideally, it should be in Panaji. We, GPNS members, could have offered full support to the government to start the museum,” said V R Navelcar, founder member of GPNS who has invested his life in collecting philatelic material.
Roland De Melo, joint secretary of GPNS opines, “Instead of Mangueshi, smart city Panaji would prove to be an ideal location for the museum.”
GPNS member Ajay Mudholkar, retired geologist from NIO who has valuable philately material in his collection, shares, “Education and out-roads are important for philately which can offer vast knowledge on biodiversity, marine wealth, fossils, volcanoes, minerals etc.”
