Balangir: The postal department on Monday released a special envelope featuring the Koshal Kalamandal, the district's cultural activity hub, and panchabadya, its traditional music.

Guests at the inaugural function of the two-day postal stamp exhibition here, including Sambalpur postmaster general Lalitendu Pradhan, emphasised on the various aspects of the postal department and threw light upon its various services.

He said people still widely used postal services, contrary to popular belief. "It is wrong to say that there are no takers for postal services. Their services are still widely used and the department plans to add more features in the future," he said, adding that the envelope featuring Balangir was a source of pride for them.

"It is a proud moment for all of us as Balangir has found a place in the envelope," he said.

Former chief secretary and philately enthusiast Sahadev Sahu focused his speech on stamp collection as a hobby. "It is a wonderful hobby where you can collect the stamps of various countries and times. It is not a hobby of mere collection of stamps, but it educates the collector about many things," Sahu said.