Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Aug 13: It has come to light that the urgency shown by the staff of the passport centre in the city, which is under the administration of the foreign ministry of the government of India, is causing inconvenience to the general public, especially people who are illiterate and elderly.

In addition, it is also learnt that the staff of the centre is pressurizing people to buy passport covers, even if they do not want it. Though this high-handedness of the staff is occurring since a long time, the general public is afraid to bring the same to the notice of the higher authorities fearing backlash.

Generally, people apply for a passport through agents, paying them hefty commission apart from the usual fee that is prescribed by the government. The applicants generally arrive at the passport office a good 15 minutes before their appointment. However, the moment they step inside the office, they are facing utter confusion due to the urgency shown by the staff of the centre in getting the task completed.

People who are applying for a new passport are not aware as to what is the procedure to get it done. Their anxiety is further aggravated by the system of calling of the token number instead of name. The plight of the illiterate, women and senior citizens is the worst. They are not able to get the task done on their own due to the extreme urgency shown by the staff of the centre.

The staff does not even give enough time for the applicant to check the details before they submit the same online and also whether the photo has appeared properly or not. They are not allowed to take a proper photo if the one taken does not appear to be okay.

Pressure to buy passport cover, inadequate facilities

It has also come to light that the staff at the centre is literally forcing the general public to buy the passport cover, even if the applicant is not willing to buy the same. They show a chart and ask the applicant to pay Rs 350 or 400. If they are asked as to why an applicant has to pay that amount, they do not seem to give a proper answer and they do not allow the applicant to ask any further questions on the subject. The innocent public pay the money as asked by the staff in order to avoid any backlash or denial of further services of the staff. The people are saying that this is a kind of daylight robbery that is done by the passport centre. According to sources, there is a certain percentage of commission to the staff who are pressurising applicants to buy the passport cover.

The A, B and C blocks inside the passport service centre are extremely congested. There is no proper facility for people to sit. It is common to see elderly and illiterate people getting confused without knowing where are these blocks. If the said person does not report when the token number is called, he or she is made to wait for a minimum of half an hour. Due to this, it is common to see elderly people rushing even though they are not physically fit.

There is no proper arrangement for the applicants to sit outside the entrance door of the centre. There is a furniture shop adjacent to the passport centre and most of the people sit on the edges of the room as there is no other provision. It is a common scene to see the owner of the furniture shop shouting at people who are sitting on the steps and space in front of the large display mirrors of the shop. Due to the frustration of repeatedly telling people to go away from the front side of the shop, the furniture shop owner has put a board which says 'No one should sit in front of the shop'. However, the public still makes use of the available space as there are no other means for them.

Several organizations and political parties had staged a protest citing the irregularities of the passport centre and the egoistic attitude of the staff some time ago. People's representatives had also interacted with the officials of the passport centre based on the grievances raised by the general public. However, it seems this has fallen on deaf ears as no improvement can be seen on either front.

Let the centre be service-oriented

"Senior citizens, women and new applicants do not have suitable information with regards to the procedure at the passport centre. It has also come to light that people of a certain religion are looked down upon by the staff of the centre. The officials and staff show arrogance as this centre is under the control of the central government. This centre should be a passport service centre and not a centre to cheat people. There have been numerous complaints about the faulty system and the injustice that is meted out at this centre. Let the officers and staff of this centre provide proper information and good service to people," says a citizen.

Rafik, a passport agent of Uppinangadi says, "We take the passport fee and our nominal service fee from the customers and provide them service. However, we are receiving complaints about the urgency shown by the staff inside the centre and also pressurisation to buy the passport cover from the staff. The customers may lose their faith in us because of the lacklustre attitude of the passport centre staff. The officers and staff of the centre have to provide proper information and also give time for the applicants to understand the procedures."