Dehradun, Oct 29 (IANS): The post office at Kedarnath shrine which was washed away in the 2013 flash floods, has been restored and started operations, an official said on Saturday.

The post office's new building has begun operations from the Punjab and Sind dharmsala, he further informed and said that the main priest of the Kedarnath shrine inaugurated the post office after a 'puja'.

Officials said the post office had been washed away when the June 2013 flash floods that killed over 5,700 people and permission for restoration took three years.

"The permission to restart work and build a new premises took three years but we are happy that it has become functional once again" an official said.

This post office is seasonal and the sub-office, officials pointed out, was used as a 'delivery point' while its head office was in Gopeshwar, Rudraprayag.

It is technically located in the Okhimath taluka and has a pin code 246445.

People in the surrounding areas would once again be connected to postal activity and in far-flung areas, a state government official noted.