Covid-19 fear: Passport appointments see 70% decline in Jalandhar
Only 250 appointments being made in a day now against the 790 before the Covid-19 outbreak.
As the fear of contagion continues to grow in the district, the regional passport office here has witnessed a sharp decline in the number of applications under fresh/normal and tatkal categories.
Jalandhar regional passport office, which caters to the NRI belt of the state, has recorded a dip of 70% in per day appointments after the reopening of centres from May 26.
Earlier, the passport office and three Sewa Kendras used to collectively receive around 790 appointments daily. However, due to Covid-19 scare, only 250 appointments are being made in a day now.
After the Union external affairs ministry’s direction, the passport office had reduced appointments for application submission by 50%, limiting the same to 390 applications, owing to the pandemic.
A passport officer said despite appointments, sometimes applicants do not turn up for submitting documents or fees and reschedule their visits for later dates. This is probably because of the restriction on the number of times an appointment can be rescheduled has been relaxed to three times per appointment, beyond which fresh payment has to be made for an appointment, the officer added.
“These days, we have been receiving 250-270 appointments every day. People are scared to come out of their homes and that is a prime reason behind the steep dip in passport applications in Jalandhar,” said regional passport officer Raj Kumar Bali.
He said due to the low footfall at Sewa Kendras, some staffers have been deputed at the main office to clear the pending workload.
Officials said lesser applications were received this year as tours were cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak and students postponing their plans to study abroad.