Visakhapatnam: Free passes for the International Fleet Review (IFR) events have become a topic of discussion — and disgruntlement — among Vizagites.
The district administration stared issuing passes for the naval carnival on Friday. As many as 1.4 lakh free passes will be issued for the IFR events, according to the district administration, and the only thought on people’s minds is how to get one.
On the first day, about 20,000 passes were distributed through the 154 Mee-Seva Centres in the city. People can collect one free pass per person after submitting a photocopy of their Aadhaar card. Each Mee-Seva centre was given 500 passes on Friday.
People of all ages made a beeline for the centres on Saturday and those who succeeded were jubilant. Those who didn’t returned home disappointed.
Some people accused the Mee-Seva Centre of partiality in issuing passes and also asking money from people. “I waited for about two hours, but did not get a pass. Citing glitches in the server, the person in charge told me to return the next day. When I did so, the in-charge told me that the passes were over” said K. Suryanarayana, venting his anger.
As the free passes are being issued only in Vizag city. people from the city outskirts are unhappy over the administration’s arrangements. When asked about irregularities in the distribution of passes, the district collector N. Yuvraj said he had received several complaints in this regard.
“Soon after receiving complaints, I sent officials to the centre to verify the documents, though it is hard to keep track of all 154 centres,” he said, adding that the Mee-Seva centre would face stringent action if found guilty of violating the rule of first come first served. The pass grants entry to the operational event of the IFR on February 7. About 80 enclosures will be set up on the beach along the coast right from the Coastal Battery to Palm Beach Hotel to accommodate the people.
