The Ministry of External Affairs would look into it if State government comes up with a request to set up a full-fledged Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Vijayawada instead of Visakhapatnam, said Regional Passport Officer Ashwini Sattaru on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference here, Ms. Ashwini said Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, Vijayawada, Guntur and Prakasam districts would soon be transferred to the passport office in Visakhapatnam owing to bifurcation. The dates of transfer would be announced later.
The passport office in Visakhapatnam is currently dealing with five coastal districts -- Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari districts.
When her attention was drawn to the problems faced by people in reaching RPO in Visakhapatnam from Anantapur, Chittoor and Kadapa, Ms. Ashwini said “it was a government’s decision.”
According to Ms. Ashwini, as many as 2.35 lakh passports were issued since November 2011 from the region. “We request applicants not to approach agents for getting passports as the whole process is now made accountable and transparent,” she explained.
The applicants would get their passports within stipulated time if the documents submitted by them were genuine.
The e-chip passport issuance system would commence from mid 2016 as the procurement of machinery is already under way. This initiative will enable officials to curb the menace of duplicate passports menace.
Ms. Ashwini said all the handwritten passports would soon become invalid. Those who got handwritten passports should get them renewed. She said the RPO has introduced a new on-hold appointment facility for the people who fail to bring the required documents to the Passport Seva Kendra during submission.
They can schedule their next visit as per their convenience. For grievances, the applicants could meet the staff between 9.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. at the RPO in Hyderabad till the jurisdiction of the eight districts was transferred to RPO, Visakhapatnam. Further details can be collected from the toll-free number 1800-258-1800.
