All the claims of Regional Passport Office (RPO) to provide hassle-free service at the recently launched Passport Seva Kendra's (PSK) in the city seem to have compounded applicants' woes.
Visit any PSK at Ameerpet, Begumpet and Tolichowki, serpentine queues of applicants' greet one. Generally, when a new service, particularly online, is launched, one expects problems to minimise, if not make things easier for people. But the situation at PSK appears to be different.
“There is no provision of entering children's (infants) date of birth in the website. My son is seven months old and the system does not accept such data. When I approached authorities at Begumpet PSK to clarify, they ask me come after 2 p.m.,” complains an applicant from Malakpet.
Need for helpdesk
A helpdesk needs to be provided at PSK's to give information to applicants. Everyone does not have 24 hours access to internet and particularly, illiterates are facing lot of problems, he adds. This apart, most applicants complain that authorities at PSK's need to adopt user-friendly approach.
“As per website, a PAN card and ration card can be used as address proof, but authorities demand more supporting documents. They made me visit the Kendra thrice,” says an applicant from Mahabubnagar.
More importantly, in case of Tatkaal applicants, authorities insist on attestation by IPS or IAS rank officer. “How can a common man get SP's or Collector's signature. Even if one gets the signature, the whole process takes 15 days and the very purpose of applying under Tatkaal becomes taxing,” fumes a student from Nalgonda.
It used to be very convenient to submit applications at e-Seva centres or at post offices. This service was provided at 40 e-Seva centres and many post offices.
Against 40 e-Seva centres, authorities established three PSKs in the city and that too at one end of the city.
They should be located at different parts of the city and more such centres should be established, adds another applicant.
