Passport applicants crave for fresh appointments

While the online filing of passport application forms has made it convenient for the applicants elsewhere, in Kashmir it is quite opposite! The applicants here are finding it almost impossible for last about two months to get online appointments or reappointments after submission of their forms.
The applicants alleged that while the getting online appointment was already a cumbersome process in Kashmir, “post-floods it is become a Herculean task.”
“Every time we seek the appointment, the message on the website appears: Currently no appointments are available for the selected Passport Seva Kendra (PSK),” they said.
They said the message further asks the applicant to try scheduling the appointment on a particular date and time mostly 7 to 10 days later.
“After waiting for all those days when you again try on the given date and time, you are again unable to get the appointment. Instead, the same message comes to you giving you another date for trying your appointment,” the aspirants said.
Shabir Ahmad, a Kupwara resident said: “I filed online form some 20 days ago. That time the payment was not accepted. After persistent attempts for four to five days I finally succeeded when the fee was accepted but appointment was not given. Now for the past over two weeks I am trying to get the appointment but to no avail.”
The applicants said: “Earlier, it was very difficult to get the appointment because online form submission was open to all. Then to bring some ease, paying online fee along with form was made mandatory. But now again the situation seems to have gone from bad to worse! Trying appointment has become as if you are trying your luck!”
Applicants whose appointments were scheduled during the period when the passport office remained submerged and its subsequent shifting to Jammu, alleged that they have not been able to get fresh appointment dates.
“My appointment was scheduled on September 10, when almost all of Srinagar including passport office was under water. Since then I have a number times tried to approach the office, but security officials outside don’t allow anybody without appointment to enter the premises of passport office,” Shafqat Ahmad said.
He added: “Since then I have been trying online to get the appointment, but it is in vain.”
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Regional Passport Officer, Firdous Iqbal said: “Post-floods we were not operating to our full capacity. Normally on an average 300 appointments were made on a day before floods, but post-floods we are only able to generate at maximum 150 appointments,” he said.
Iqbal said that there was also backlog of appointments of flood period but “now we have cleared them.”
However, many applicants told Greater Kashmir that the backlog has not been cleared. “We had appointments for the period when the office remained under waters, but we are yet to get the fresh appointment which suggests that the backlog has not been cleared,” they said.
Iqbal said: “Due to some technicality our applicants who were logging on PS Kashmir website page were not able to access and we were operating from camp page which also added to the difficulties confronted by the online applicants,” he said, adding that now after floods passport office has finally started work at normal pace and from now onward there will no issues affecting the applicants.
To mention, Passport Seva Kendra housed in the ground floor of the Passport Office also faced the brunt of floods.  As per reports, twelve computers used for receiving applications, clicking photographs of applicants and storing vital data related to verifications were damaged.