Pics by Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jun 16: For the second time in the recent past, the people who were frustrated by the non-cooperative attitude of the recently-opened Passport Seva Kendra in the city staged a protest, demanding better facilities, on Tuesday June 15.

A serpentine queue had been formed in front of the office of the Kendra since morning. The office is expected to start functioning from 9 am onwards, but on Tuesday, its doors were not opened till 9.45 am. The security personnel too failed too properly apprise the people about the problem, as they just said that there were technical problems. After the people, who had come from far off places like Kundapur, Bhatkal etc., protested, the policemen came on the scene and controlled the situation.

When the district deputy commissioner, V Ponnuraj, and MLA, Yogish Bhat, arrived at the Kendra, the people complained about the lackadaisical attitude of the Kendra’s employees and also that only a limited number of tokens were being issued, making the people coming from distant places to stay in the city for two to three days before they can file their applications. The two then held consultations with the Kendra officials, who told them that their computers had developed a problem on Monday evening, and that they had to check the problem properly before processing further applications. About the less number of tokens, they said, the computers are slow in processing of  the applications.

The deputy commissioner later said that he had asked the employees of the Seva Kendra to serve the people in a better way, and that he had also talked to higher officials in Bangalore. MLA, N Yogish Bhat, said that he has asked for the appointment of a public relations officer at the centre to educate the people properly. MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, has already written to the union minister for external affairs, S M Krishna, listing out the problems faced at this Kendra, and asking him to solve them immediately.