Wednesday, December 30, 2009

re-issue of passport

My passport is expiring next year on 30th Nov. I thought to get it done now, as I will have less number of months left, when I join the ship. had done the registration online and they had asked me to come on 29/12/2009 at 1145. I went there at the scheduled time, only to find no parking space inside Rajaji Bhavan, after having completed one full round of the complex. After parking the car on the main road, quite some distance away, I rushed to the passport office, to find lots and lots of people. Not knowing where to go, I had to ask people and finally managed to stand in a queue for getting the token number. It was a wait for about 30 minutes before I got the token number. Next was to stand in the line for checking the documents. It was lunch time there very soon. Had to wait for one hour because of that. After the lunch break, the queues were formed again and by the time my turn came it was 1500. The person in the counter informed me that they needed another copy of my passport, whereas it was mentioned in the website, as well as the notice board in RPO's office, that they required a copy of the old passport. I got another copy of the passport and was made to stand in another queue, which was for people who were told to correct something or other in their application forms. My turn came again, after a wait of 30 minutes or so. Finally I got my application approved and had to go to 2nd floor to make the payment. It was so crowded there, as well. There were so many counters, but many of them were unmanned too. Yet another wait for half hour, before I paid the fees for the passport. Finally, when I left the building it was 1600. The experience was a typical one, which can be experienced in every government office.

Some points about the passport office.
1)There is no one to guide the people and no proper notices as well.
2)Too much crowd and no parking space.
3)No place for people to sit.
4) No refreshments/hotels available near the passport office.

The entire passport office is in a mess and needs to be revamped, to make it people friendly and make it a better experience for the people who come to apply for passports.