Applicants are upset as these centres make it mandatory to apply online before an appointment.
The Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) set up by the ministry of external affairs to reduce hassles in applying or renewing passports, have been receiving thumbs down from the applicants in the city. Getting the token seems to be the toughest of all jobs at these centres.
“It is worse than booking a ticket at the railway station. Hundreds can be seen in the queue even before 6 am. To make it worse, they do not allow more than 175 people a day. If you reach late, you will have to try another day. Moreover, for people like me who hail from other states, they need document to prove we are staying in Bangalore for more than a year. It is not easy to get this kind of proof. The queue never moves when the server is slow. This is frustrating,” said Avishek, an office-goer who applied for a passport recently.
The applicants’ problems do not end here. The Passport Seva Kendras have now decided to make it mandatory for applicants to fill up the form online before setting up the appointment with the Passport Seva Kendras.
The appointments would be scheduled between 8.30 am and 4 pm. This has created a concern among some applicants.
“I am yet to get the passport even after visiting the office for, maybe, 10 times. Now I don’t know how to fill the form online. Why can’t they issue a public notice before taking such steps? This is not going to ease their problem or ours. The system has to work in some other ways,” said Ramesh, an applicant.
“I have been trying to get a passport for the past three months. I have a course to attend in the US from September. I had no idea about the token system the first time I went to the PSK. I failed to get my token a couple of times. On another occasion, my application was rejected. Now they have made it mandatory to apply online. What if there is a problem while filling up the form? Then the process would never end and I would miss out on my course,” said Anuranjan, a student.
The Passport Seva Kendras will only accept online forms from Wednesday.
“We are trying to meet the increasing demand of applicants. This will help both the applicants and the officers. Moreover, people would not have to wait in long queues,” said a Passport Seva Kendra official.
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