Passport office may start public appointments from May 5

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

While most central offices are shut during the lockdown, the Regional Passport Office, Sector 34-A, has opened its doors for emergency situations and for the law enforcement agencies who have been visiting the office for tracking the details of foreign-returned people.

The passport office is all set to open its doors for public appointments from May 5, said Sibash Kabiraj, regional passport chief. In case, there is a change in date, the passport office will intimate the public, he said.

Even though the office is not engaging in general services in view of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a couple of officials are tending to emergency situations at the office, he said. Around 1,500 passports of those who had applied before the lockdown announcement have been dispatched by the passport office through post so far.

Talking to The Tribune over phone, Kabiraj said, “We are running the office for emergency situations like if a person is surrendering old passports on acquiring foreign nationality and is going back to the country through a special flight. In this case, we have to issue a passport.”

The office also tends to law enforcement agencies from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. “The law enforcement agencies are visiting us so that they can track down foreign-returned people who haven’t given complete details. To access those details, the office system has to be used, so we open the office for two to three hours. All officers are home and a couple of them visit the office to access the main system. We are closed for general purposes,” he said.

Kabiraj said, “Around 1,500 passports were sent through post. These include the ones that came before March 24 and the ones where the police verification reached us later on; their passports had to be printed here too.”

‘Will begin with minimum cases’

Even though all appointments have been cancelled and the new appointments will start on May 5, the passport office will not be the same, especially when it comes to public dealing. “Earlier, on a daily basis, we would attend to around 1,400 people in Chandigarh alone, along with 800 from Ludhiana and 700 from Ambala. This will not be possible now. We will start with minimum appointments so that we can practice social distancing,” Kabiraj said. The Passport Seva Kendra too will reopen on May 5.