Page 58 - SST Class 05

Letters and Parcels
The Department of Post (DoP) is a government department which functions as India
Post. When you want to send your postcards, letters and parcels, you have to visit a
post office, which is an office of the India Post. There is a vast network of post offices in

our country, including towns and villages. A large number of postmen work in it, who
deliver letters and parcels at your doorstep. At present, some private courier
companies too are working in this field.

Know It!

v The former name of the Department of Post was the P&T (Post and Telegraph) Department.
v India, with over 1,55,000 post offices, has the largest network of post offices in the world.
v Earlier, the post office also ran a telegraph service in which an SMS like message, called telegram, was
sent. It took about one day to reach its destination.

Inland letter Envelope Postcard Teleprinter Blue Dart

Teleprinter

A teleprinter is like a typewriter. It is an electro-mechanical machine. Two or more
teleprinters are connected through wires. When you type a message on one teleprinter,
it is automatically typed on the other teleprinter connected to it. Thus, a message is
instantly delivered. The teleprinters are out of fashion now, mainly because of the
quick and efficient internet.

Telephone
The telephone is one of the most wonderful inventions of the modern times. It was

invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. Its greatest advantage is that you can talk
with another person in real time; this makes it the fastest means. This is the reason that
it has become one of the commonest means of communication today. You can talk to a
person stationed near or far. It is a very valuable means of two-way communication.

When a person speaks into a telephone, the sound waves of his voice enter the
mouthpiece, which change into an electric current, which is then carried to the
telephone of the person he is talking to. A telephone is connected through wires and
cables.

58 Contemporary Social Science-5