Spurt in passport applications at Chandigarh RPO

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 26

Passport applications at the Regional Passport Office in Sector 34 here have almost doubled ever since the lockdown restrictions were lifted after the second wave of Covid-19.

Regional Passport Officer Sibash Kabiraj said: “There were around 2,000 applications per day before September. After the Covid-induced lockdown and travel restrictions were lifted, the

number of applications went up to around 4,000 per day”.

“The number of appointments at Passport Seva Kendras in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Ambala, which provide services to a total of 12 districts in Haryana and 11 in Punjab, including Chandigarh, has now been increased to meet the growing number of applications,” said Kabiraj.

He said: “The spurt in passport applications has resulted in an increase of waiting period for appointments. Tatkal applications, which had a waiting period of one day, are now taking about a week. Normal applications, where the waiting period was of one week, are now taking about three weeks for appointments.”

He said: “Appointments at our Passport Seva Kendras in Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Ambala have been increased by 30 per cent so that the waiting period can be shortened for the convenience of the applicants.”