RAWALPINDI, Nov 13: The postal department in Rawalpindi region has earned Rs123.3 million within one year, the deputy postmaster general, Agha Anwar Gul, said here on Tuesday.

He was talking to reporters at the GPO, Rawalpindi.

Mr Gul said the postal department had become a profitable institution and revenue of the department was steadily increasing on account of issuance of PTV licences, payments of utility bills, receipt of provincial taxes and saving bank accounts.

He said all possible steps were being taken for the department’s development, and for providing better services to the masses.

The deputy postmaster general said the monitoring system of the postal delivery, dispatch and quick distribution of the mail had been tightened. He said the aim of the exercise was to improve postal services and increase revenue.

Official sources told Dawn that the postal authorities in Rawalpindi had adopted protective anti-anthrax measures and mail coming from abroad and from within the country was being checked.

The mail in Rawalpindi is received at the GPO Office and the Post Office, Satellite Town, through International Mail Office, Islamabad, and District Office, Karachi.

Sources said the mail that reached people and firms first landed at the International Mail Office and then at the District Office in Karachi, therefore, chances of anthrax powder in the letters and parcels were dim.

The workers at these offices, who handle the mail, are properly equipped with masks and gloves, the sources said.

Similarly, there are 40 postal employees who sort out the mail at GPO, Rawalpindi and Post Office, Satellite Town. These workers have also been provided with masks and gloves for their safety, they added.