Andhra Pradesh - Ongole   

Awareness needed for passport applicants, says official

ONGOLE: Regional Passport Officer Bala Bhaskar has assured the applicants that they would get their passports within 30 days.

Addressing passport mela being organised at D.R.R. Municipal High School grounds for two days from Saturday, Mr Bala Bhaskar said that they had eradicated middlemen by streamlining the process, creating awareness among applicants and using online services. The Regional Passport Office at Hyderabad created a record of sorts by issuing passports within 30 days of application without any hassles and won the confidence of the applicants. It became a model to other passport offices in the country, he said. Mr Bala Bhaskar said that they received the lowest number of applications from Prakasam district mainly due to lack of awareness among the people. So they planned the mela to clarify the doubts and issue passports to all people who want to go abroad for higher education, employment, tourism etc.

The DRR municipal high school grounds here buzzed with activity as nearly 1000 applicants thronged it seeking passport. The Regional Passport Office made elaborate arrangements to make the mela a success. It opened nine counters to help applicants fill their forms properly, receive and verify them. A notary has been called to testify date of birth and other declarations and a photographer was at hand to supply passport size photographs.

As the banks closed at 12 p.m. on Saturday, the passport officials accepted cash in lieu of demand draft for Rs. 1,000 towards application fee. The verified applications were handed over to the special branch police who were also present at the mela.

Mr Bala Bhaskar said that the police would normally take two weeks to verify the antecedents of the applicants and give their report and passport office would take just five days after that to issue the passport. He said that the applicants should furnish birth certificate issued by competant authority like municipality or panchayat and they should furnish any three out of 14 documents for residence proof and identity. The applicants can submit ration card, telephone or power bills, driving licence, voter identification card, income tax return, permanent account number, weapons licence, employment identity card etc. If the application form is filled properly in all respects and documents produced, the passport would be issued within 30 days.

The Regional Passport Office at Hyderabad won ISO 9000 certificate for prompt service to the applicants. It is issuing nearly 2000 passports per day through online services. The passport mela turned out to be a bonanza for students and aged persons. Several students who plan to go abroad for higher education or employment felt happy that they could get their passports easily. Many aged persons who wanted to go abroad to meet their kin thanked the passport officials for organising mela at Ongole itself. The mela would be conducted at Darsi on Monday.

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Awareness needed for passport applicants, says official

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