Passport applications at Chandigarh RPO dip by 39.07% in 2 years

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 3

From 7.1 lakh in 2019 to 4.8 lakh in 2021 (till December 20), the number of passport applications at the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Sector 34 has dipped by nearly 39.07 per cent in the past two years.

A comparative analysis of the number of applications received during the pandemic in the past two years, which is 2020 and 2021, shows the signs of amelioration even though the travel industry still continues to battle the blows of the Covid-induced restrictions.

In 2017, the regional office recorded a total of 6.3 lakh applications, which grew by almost a lakh in 2018 at 7.3 lakh. The RPO received 7.1 lakh applications in 2019. Such was the effect of the pandemic on travel that the number of passport applications dropped to nearly half in 2020. Owing to lockdowns and travel ban, the RPO received only 3.5 lakh passport applications in 2020. According to the data provided by the office, in April 2018, 59,983 people applied for passport, which increased to 60,159 in April 2019. However, the RPO did not receive even a single application in April 2020 because of the lockdown.

This year, the number pointed at an upward trend, showing a rise of 1.2 lakh applications. The figure stood at 4.8 lakh this year, till December 20. The number of passports issued this year (till Dec 20) is 4.3 lakh, which is about 1 lakh short of passports issued in 2017. The RPO received a maximum number of applications in 2018, which is also the year when it issued the maximum number of passports.

Regional Passport Officer Sibash Kabiraj said, “In fact, in 2020, we issued the largest number of passports in the country. That year, the passport offices were closed for a larger period of time and applicants were also hesitant to travel to passport offices because of the Covid restrictions.

“The demand for passports for international travel also declined because of the international travel restrictions. This year the passport offices were operational for a larger period and demand for passports was high because of relaxation in international travel.”

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