Amritsar’s iconic 100-year-old General Post Office is up for restoration

Built in December 1925, Amritsar’s iconic General Post Office (GPO) is set to undergo restoration and conservation work ahead of the official centenary events in 2026. The GPO was set up as a local sub-post office before being upgraded in 1894. The head post office, a single-storey structure, was shifted to the premises on Court Road in March 1926. It was declared a heritage structure on February 15, 1993.

The British-era structure has standout features such as jack arch ceilings, archways, a front porch with a grand doorway, skylights and fireplaces.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Department of Posts for the documentation and conservation of heritage post offices across the country in 2022. As a follow-up of this initiative, specific MoUs were signed between INTACH and GPOs of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Nagpur. Experts from INTACH-Punjab, in collaboration with their Delhi counterparts, had signed a pact with the Department of Posts in September last year to initiate work at the Amritsar GPO. Four months on, work is yet to begin. A team of experts, led by INTACH-Delhi’s conservation architect Hrutika Satdive, conducted a site visit in September.

INTACH-Punjab convener Maj Gen Balwinder Singh (retd) says, “We will begin work soon as we are working out the technical details.” INTACH has submitted a proposal for restoration at an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore. According to Satdive, the lack of maintenance was visible. “We have found four-five fireplaces that are not functional. We would love to design a plan where these can be made functional.”

Conservation expert and former faculty member of Guru Ramdass School of Architecture, GNDU, Prof Balvinder Singh, says the GPO was once a “glorious red brick structure, a landmark of British architecture standing out amid the Mughal-Sikh period” heritage. “It was a significant postal service and correspondence centre during several social and political movements. It has undergone changes, not structural but in terms of painting the outer walls white,” he adds.

Praveen Prasoon, senior superintendent of the GPO, says the building has suffered due to water seepage and withered due to environmental conditions. “We specifically had glass partitions installed while setting up new divisions inside the building as no concrete or structural changes are allowed.” Prof Singh is hopeful that the restoration “might just help save the building”. Heritage conservation and development must go hand in hand, he stresses.