Special postal cover unveiled as part of Kerala's Break the Chain campaign
Kerala health department and postal department has jointly launched a special postal cover as part of the 'Break the Chain' campaign.
18 Jun 2020 | 3436 Views | By Aultrin Vijay
In a bid to create awareness against the spread of Covid-19, the health department and postal department of Kerala jointly unveiled a special postal cover in Thiruvananthapuram on 16 June 2020.
The launch was part of the state's aggressive 'Break the Chain' campaign, which was launched by the Kerala government on 16 March to educate the people about the importance of public and personal hygiene. Health minister of the state KK Shailaja officially unveiled the cover.
"The fight against coronavirus can be strengthened only with the support of the public. A special post cover has been launched as part of this objective," Shailaja said. The initiative aims at reaching out to the maximum number of people with the 'Break the Chain' campaign.
The special cover is printed with the campaign logo and its slogan – SMS, which stands for soap, mask and social distancing. The slogan highlights the need to wash hands using soap or sanitiser, wear masks and maintain social distancing. Another slogan in the cover states, "Let us continue this care." Top health and postal department officials attended the launch event.
Under the campaign, the Kerala government has installed water taps at public spots such as at the entry and exit gates of the railway stations with bottles of hand-washes. In May, the minister also launched a cartoon campaign in association with Kerala Cartoon Academy as part of the 'Break the Chain' campaign.
India's first philately material for Corona warriors
The Kerala circle of the Department of Posts had earlier brought out the country's first philately material to honour the ‘Corona warriors’ in April 2020. The special cover paid tribute to the thousands of ‘Corona warriors’ who have risked their lives to keep people safe from the virus. The special cover depicts health care personnel, police personnel, postal workers, and services such as ATMs, petrol pumps, and trains that keep the country running despite the Covid-19 threat. On the back of the cover is a note on the pandemic, its impact on the people, and India Post’s salute for their selfless service. The design of the cover was decided by the Kerala postal circle. The special cover is the first philately material on Covid-19 released by India Post. Earlier, China was the first country to bring out a stamp on the Corona warriors.
Special cover on 1,000 India Post ATMs
The Department of Posts has released a special cover to commemorate the milestone of 1,000 ATMs of India Post. The department stated that under the IT modernisation project, the Department of Posts commissioned its first ATM at Thyagarayanagar in Chennai on 25 February 2014, and the 1,000th ATM will be commissioned at Lunglei, Mizoram, on 17 June. During the lockdown period, (between 31 March and 31 May 2020) India Post ATMs supported 14,46,419 transactions for a total value of Rs 404.26 crores. The special cover will be released in Bengaluru by Sharda Sampath, chief postmaster general, Karnataka Circle, and simultaneously at Shillong by Amitabh Kharkwal, CPMG, North East Circle.