The Post Office of India and Its StoryClarke, Geoffrey
History
The Post Office of India and Its Story
Clarke, Geoffrey
Postal service -- India
The Base post office for the main force was at first situated at Kohat,
and the Base office for the Peshawar column at Peshawar. When the
troops marched through Tirah and took up their position for the winter
in the Bara Valley, the Khyber Pass and the neighbourhood of Peshawar,
Messrs. Dhanjibhoy established two tonga services connecting Peshawar
with Bara and Jamrud, while beyond these places they arranged for the
carriage of mails by a horse post. The mail service for the Peshawar
column previous to this had been carried on by the Afridi horse
contractors, and as the roads were improved the tonga services were
extended up to Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass and Gandao in the Bara
Valley.
The postal arrangements lasted for a period of six months. On this
occasion, too, the field post offices were specially authorized to sell
newspapers to the troops and were allowed a commission on the sales.
_The Tochi Field Force._
The postal arrangements in connection with the Tochi Field Force lasted
for a period of about eight months, from July, 1897, to February, 1898.
The base of the operations was Bannu, which is 111 miles away from the
railway at Khushalgarh, and, as soon as it was known that a force was
to be mobilized at Bannu, arrangements were made for the introduction
of an efficient tonga service from Khushalgarh to that place and for
a proper railway connection between Golra and Khushalgarh. Between
Khushalgarh and Kohat a feeble tonga service was already in existence
under the management of the District Board of Kohat, while for the
local demands an ekka service had been established between Kohat and
Bannu. Neither of these lines could be relied upon to meet the special
requirements for mails and passengers caused by the expedition, and
Mr. Dhanjibhoy, the mail contractor of the Rawalpindi-Srinagar line,
established a complete and efficient tonga service over the entire
distance.
The postal arrangements were carried out very satisfactorily. Mr. W.
T. van Someren was in charge of the actual arrangements in the field
from the beginning till September, 1897, when he was relieved by Mr. F.
O'Byrne, who remained in charge during the remainder of the operations.
_The Tochi Valley Field Force._
After the breaking up of the Tochi Field Force in December, 1897,
it was decided to retain in the valley a brigade of troops on field
service scale under the command of the General Officer Commanding,
Tochi. The troops were quartered in six military posts, and camp post
offices were opened to serve them. During the Tochi Expedition there
was a tonga service between Edwardesabad and Bannu, but this having
been discontinued a new arrangement had to be made for a tonga service
with Messrs. Dhanjibhoy and Sons for the conveyance of mails between
Khushalgarh and Kohat and an ekka service between Edwardesabad and
Miranshah and Datta Khel.
_The Swat Valley Column._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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