The Hindu : Front Page : Few takers for ‘tatkal' passports

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Sunday, Nov 14, 2010
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Few takers for ‘tatkal' passports

L. Srikrishna

MADURAI: Demand for getting passports through ‘tatkal' system had come down, said Regional Passport Officer-MaduraiJose K. Mathew.

Till two years back, about 250 to 300 applicants sought passport through ‘tatkal' mode. Now, the number had come down to around 50 to 60 applications a day, he told The Hindu here on Friday.

Terming it as an indicator of efficient functioning of the passport office, he said that the awareness level among the public seeking fresh passports also had gone up. Moreover, the issuance of fresh passport through ordinary/normal channel took 37 days and 10 days for re-issue of passports that had expired validity. Madruai passport office had issued 90,000 new passports till October 31, while it had issued 1.23 lakh passports last year. “We have two more months to go,” he said. The Madurai region covers Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts.

Applicants seeking fresh passports were aware of the user-friendly system available, he said. For instance, after the introduction of e-appointment facility, people were able to come at specified date/time and file their papers with original documents. Nowadays, there was no huge crowd at the office or major grievances from the public. Similarly, the SMS facility for applicants, which updated the progress of the applications, too had been well received, he said.

Till a few months ago, there were complaints of fake certificates attached with the applications by passport seekers.

Knowingly or unknowingly, they were misguided by touts. Random checks with the issuing authorities concerned had brought down such incidents, Mr. Mathew said.

On the Passport Seva Kendra proposed for Madurai and Tirunelveli, he said that it was coming up on a spacious rented premises at Kochadai (Madurai) and near the new bus stand in Tirunelveli.

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