BENGALURU: After the third wave of Covid-19, the number of passport applications has gone up in Bengaluru as well as the rest of Karnataka, and appointments for applicants, including for tatkaal option, are available only after 14 days.
Officials say the waiting period will ease in a month as the surge is due to fresh applications and renewals after the pandemic.
As on Sunday, the next available passport appointment in Bengaluru at the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Lalbagh and Marathahalli was April 12. For tatkaal, it was April 21 and 22, respectively. Tatkaal applicants get passports earlier than regular ones. Appointments for police clearance certificate (PCC) are available the next day itself.
While appointments for applicants were available within a few days earlier, the rush of applicants following the third wave has driven officials to work overtime. In December, people could get appointments in a day.
The two PSKs in Bengaluru are receiving close to 2,200 applications a day, including for renewal, new passport and PCC, and the numbers are only increasing.
“We are experiencing a surge in applications in recent months as many are new applicants, possibly planning to travel abroad. There are also those coming to renew their passports as offices are working in full swing. On a given day, we have close to 1,500 applications being processed at PSK Lalbagh and over 700 at PSK Marathahalli,” said Krishna K, IFS, regional passport officer in Bengaluru.
The rush is expected to subside in a month or two and appointments will be available for the public within days of booking, he added.
“We are short-staffed at both the kendras. But we have to clear the applications and issue passports as many applicants might be racing against time to travel abroad,” said a senior PSK official.
