Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Passport Seva Kendras to ease task of applicants

Photo: A. Shaikmohideen

Good:A view of the reception hall of Passport Seva Kendra in Tirunelveli.

TIRUNELVELI: A state-of-the-art Passport Seva Kendra, all set to be inaugurated on South Bypass Road near Vaeinthaankulam new bus-stand on June 30, will make the task of passport applicants easier.

Applicant need to enter the reception hall after crossing the differently-abled-friendly ramp with all original documents required for obtaining the passport and pay the prescribed fee of Rs. 1,000.

The application form will be filled in by the Tata Consultancy Services personnel there and a token given to each applicant.

Apart from getting information from these personnel, the candidates can gather details from two information kiosks kept in the hall.

After getting the tokens, the aspirants can wait comfortably in the 136 wide alloy chairs spread in the spacious waiting hall where four LCD screens have been mounted to alert the waiting applicants of their turn and the counter number in which his or her application will be digitally processed in the first floor.

“If you fail to notice the alert call as you were attending a call on the mobile phone, you can approach the two floor attendants deployed there, who will tell you the counter in which your application would be processed,” said an official.

The Tata Consultancy Services, which has been handpicked for this job, has created 16 counters in the processing section in the first floor.

“Each counter has biometric tools worth Rs. 2 lakh to capture the documents, image and other required biometric features of the applicant, who can simultaneously verify all these information on a computer screen facing the candidate even as his or her case is processed by the executives,” he said.

After the processing zone, the applicant will enter the verifying and granting section, where 44 chairs have been arranged.

“We will strictly follow ‘first in first out' principle on our premises and there will be no chance for skipping the seniority,” the official noted.

The entire premises has been centrally air-conditioned.

A coffee shop in the waiting hall will keep the aspirants in good spirit, and the visitors are sure to feel comfortable till they leave this with pleasing interiors.

Trilingual information boards put at every point clearly state the information to be followed by the applicants.

The Kendra will function from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. and the lunch break will be between 1.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. No food, cameras, laptops, pet animals, hand baggage, flammable material will be allowed inside.

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