Siliguri: The delay in opening the passport office at Matigara
on the outskirts Siliguri has triggered discontentment among people of
Siliguri and the adjoining areas.
The Passport Seva Laghu Kendra
planned by the Centre more than two years back has come up at a
commercial building in Himanchal Bihar, located in Matigara.
The
building is owned by Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority and a
portion of it has been provided to the Union ministry of external
affairs on rent.
"The office was supposed to
be inaugurated in April this year but the launch was postponed because
of civic polls in the hills. Since then, there hasn't been an inch of
progress. It is disappointing that despite the centre being ready, the
Union government is not opening it formally. We have already taken up
the matter with the local administration and if required, we will launch
a movement," said Ratan Banik, the secretary of the Brihattar Siliguri
Nagarik Mancha, a forum of Siliguri citizens.
In Siliguri, a Passport Application and Collection Centre was opened
in 2000. It worked till April 1, 2013, and was closed down then.
After
that, residents of Siliguri and the adjoining areas need to travel to
Gangtok, Berhampore or Calcutta to get new passports or renew the old
ones.
Sources at the regional passport office in Calcutta said
the final nod to open the centre in Siliguri was yet to come. "The
necessary furniture and equipment have been put in place. We have also
carried out trial runs and are ready to open it. But the final nod has
to come from the ministry along with an announcement of the opening
date," said an official.
He said they wanted to start
full-fledged work from the very first day. Initially, the office will
fix 100 appointments of passport applicants in a day, he said.
The Telegraph
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