The second weekend Passport Mela organised by the Ministry of External Affairs drew people in their hundreds at the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Bangalore, and the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) here on Saturday.
Long queues
Applicants began queuing up outside the RPO in Koramangala as early as 8.30 a.m., waiting for the counters to open at 10 a.m. While a good many applications were accepted, a few had to return disappointed as they had not brought with them the requisite documents.
Similar scenes were reported from the PSKs on Lalbagh Road and Marathahalli in the city.
In view of the confusion during the previous Passport Mela when many aspirants had arrived without downloading the application forms from the website, the authorities on Saturday had made arrangements for application forms to be sold at the venue for Rs. 10.
Birth certificate
Krishnappa, a real estate agent, found himself all at sea when he realised he did not have the required documents to establish his date of birth. “Though I showed my driving licence, voter ID and bank passbook, I was told they are not enough. They demanded my birth certificate.”
Samira Khan, a homemaker who successfully submitted her application, suggested that the authorities make separate arrangements to attend to senior citizens.
Shilpa Prashant, a teacher who had come with her child, felt that provisions should be made for applicants who have children accompanying them.
Swapna S., an unemployed science graduate, strongly felt the need for a helpdesk at the venue. “Most people have a lot of doubts, right from filling the form to bringing the necessary documents,” she said.
Ajay, a computer salesman whose application was accepted, was visibly happy with the “smooth process”. “Everything is being done well,” he remarked. Echoing the same sentiment, Shabbir Ahmed said: “I faced no problems at all.”
The turnout of applicants at the PSK on Lalbagh Road on Saturday appeared to be much higher than at the RPO, Koramangala.
Better organised
K.J. Srinivasa, Regional Passport Officer, Bangalore, said the margin between the number of people who turned up at the Mela, and the number of aspirants whose applications were accepted, had reduced this time. “The percentage of applications accepted was higher on Saturday. Either the applicants had come well prepared with the required documents or our offices had become lenient,” he quipped.
A total of 1,521 applications were accepted on Saturday against the approximately 1,475 that were accepted on June 23, the first day of last weekend’s Passport Mela.
At the end of the day one of the second Passport Mela, a total of 450 applications were accepted at RPO, Koramangala, 598 at PSK on Lalbagh Road, 280 at PSK at Marathahalli, besides 86 and 107 at the PSKs at Mangalore and Hubli respectively.
