Wait period at POPSK comes down to zero

With the daily quota of appointments at the Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) increased, keeping in mind the number of aspirants over the period of last few months, the waiting period for applicants has reduced to zero and the appointments are available as early as the next day.
Earlier, passport aspirants had to wait for a minimum one-month to get appointment when the facility was rolled out around nine months ago. The wait period then came down to fortnight until the daily quota of appointments were regulated.

“We increased the quota of daily appointments to 300 to gradually minimise the waiting period that has now become zero. It was a great achievement to cater to 300 applicants per day considering the modest start of 50 appointments during early days of starting of the centre. The daily quota is now of 200 appointments as waiting time and number of passport aspirants have reduced,” a POPSK official said.

The earlier one-month waiting period was inconvenient, forcing many applicants to visit Mumbai for getting their work done. Inaugurated on the occasion of Gudi Padwa on March 28, the POPSK in Aurangabad has catered to over 18,000 applicants per month. It comes out to be average 2,000 applicants per month.

Aurangabad circle postmaster general Pranav Kumar said the active support from the MEA together with commitment from the postal department staff led to zero waiting time for passport applicant.

“We will ensure that the functioning of the POPSK remains citizen-centric in the future as well. The applicants are also welcomed to share their feedback about our services,” he said.

Several passport aspirants expressed delight over the waiting period coming down no nil. “It is great to hear that the POPSK has been serving so efficiently. I have been planning to make passport of all family members. I will do it now without wasting any time,” said Deepak Rajhans, a private professional.

The POPSK was set up following the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the department of post announced to utilise the Head Post Offices (HPO) in various states as passport felicitation centres with an aim to extend services on a larger scale.

As per laid the down procedure, an applicant need to visit the official website (www.passportindia.gov.in) for registration and seek appointment using available online platform.

The applicant reaches the POPSK as per the scheduled time where authorities verify documents and forward the file to the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Mumbai.

The alerts related to status of application are shared with the applicant using e-mail id provided at the time of registration. The RPO issues passport by post once the police verification report is over.
Meanwhile, POPSK officials have reiterated the need for carefully following check-list of documents before appearing on the day of appointments.