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Updated: Aug 15, 2019 00:06 IST

Not just suspension of internet connectivity and snapping of phone lines, there was a bar even on delivering snail mail to Jammu and Kashmir immediately after Article 370 was nullified, officials in the department of posts aware of developments said.

The suspension of postal operations came after a communication from the ministry of home affairs, the officials said, asking not to be identified. “Security concerns” in the newly carved Union territories, “disruptions in the region” and the “prevailing conditions” there were among the reasons, they added.

The Jammu and Kashmir postal circle, which has its headquarters in Srinagar, was formed in 1966 and has a total of 1,695 post offices. There are nine head post offices, 252 sub post offices, and 1,434 branch post offices. The circle additionally has six postal divisions, with Ladakh being one of them.

Leh and Kargil have 110 post offices.

A senior official said suspension of postal operations in Jammu was lifted from Monday, and letters were now being delivered there. For Kashmir, the department is awaiting further orders.

Bookings of packages and letters have, however, started this week, said another senior official who wished to remain anonymous.

The department has another task at hand -- to work out how letters and parcels will be delivered in Ladakh, now a Union territory. Talks started on Wednesday on a letter from the communications ministry.

“We will need to reassess the requirement of manpower, and the process has started today. We will need to study if the area needs a post circle or state. These discussions will be taken up with local officers,” said the official.