New Delhi: Just 15 minutes to midnight, the last iconic telegram in the capital was sent to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

The telegram counter closed at 11:45 pm last night and the last message was booked at the counter of Central Telegraph Office (CTO) Janpath by one Ashwani Mishra, who sent messages to Mr Gandhi and Director General of DD news SM Khan.

The revenue collected was Rs. 68,837 as the country bade farewell to the harbinger of good and bad news for generations of Indians.

A large number of people, many of them youngsters and first timers, turned up yesterday at four telegraph centres in the Capital which have almost been forgotten in recent years to send a message to their loved ones on the last day of the service.

In Bangalore:

  Bangaloreans rushed to the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) on Sunday to be able to send a last telegram to their near and dear ones, making life difficult for telegraph employees, many of who were forced  to go without  lunch while catering to the rush on Sunday.

Ironically, people who had never sent a telegram were the ones who had rushed to the CTO, wanting to be part of  history  before the curtains came down on the 162-year-old telegraph.

Jyothi, a 31-year-old research scholar,  waited for over three hours to  send 12  telegrams  across the  country. “I just wanted to make sure I was part of  history,” she said.

Although one could call in and request for a telegram to be sent, many decided that it would only be fair to make a personal visit to the  CTO.