The post office currently standing in the Raopura area was built in the early 1930s and has a long history of correspondence between the Britishers and the Gaekwads.
The earliest known postal service available in Baroda before 1863 was through the Camp PO, located inside the Cantonment area. Until 1863, there was no other post office; the city only had one letterbox installed on its premises. For buying stamps and for registered post, people had to walk to the Camp Post Office.
This changed when Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad entered into an agreement with the Britishers to open Postal Services in the Baroda State. However, this agreement did not bear fruit, mainly because the British wanted an office inside the walled city, which the Maharaja deemed infeasible due to the city gates being closed at night.
Finally, after years of correspondence, a small Post Office was established near Limra Chowk around 1874, outside the Lehripura Gate. Another Post office was established in the city around 1877, in Raoji Appaji Fanse’s Wada in the Raopura area. Nothing further appears to have happened in the matter until 1892. In that year, the Britishers again started communication with Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, this time to establish a new building for the Post office, as the present building was inadequate for its purpose. Unfortunately, these communications also failed to bear fruit.
A collapse and a new building:
In the early 1900s, the matter saw some progress. In 1907, Appaji’s Wada collapsed, and for the next 12 months, the office was established in a building near the Kothi area. Meanwhile, in 1908, the construction of a new building for the Head Post Office was sanctioned. The site chosen for this was close to Nawab’s Wada (Haveli) on Chimnabai Tower Road. The landlord, Mr. Chhaganlal Parikh, agreed to have the new building ready by September 1908. A building was then constructed on Raopura Road comprising the Telegraph Office, sorting room, postmaster’s room, treasury room, clerk’s room, runner’s room, and godowns. This building functioned as the Head Post Office for a long period.
On September 26, 1922, approval for the construction of a new building was granted. Finally, in August 1934, construction of a new Head Post Office building opposite the Suryanarayan Temple (present location of Baroda H.O.) was completed. The new building began operating as the Head Post Office from September 1, 1934. Upon moving to the new building, the window delivery system was ceased, and the Post Box system was introduced with a fee of Rs. 15.00 per annum.
Later, more branches of the Post Office were built on Rajmahal Road, Makarpura Palace, and other places.
Services:
Apart from regular mail services, the office also provided a service through which any post would reach the Baroda State in just 7 days. An incident where the postal services of the State proved very helpful was during the “Ghoda Pur” (Horse Flood). During these floods, the State decided to continue Postal Services using elephants!
So, this is the story of a Princely State attempting to establish a neighborhood-friendly Post Office for the convenience of its people, who now, with the changing times, have almost forgotten the good old mailing system.
Partial Source: Baroda Postal History (Prashant Pandya)
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