HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Regional Passport Office (RPO) is among the top five in the country for 2023 in terms of issuing passports, having having crossed the 7.85 lakh mark. Of the 37 RPOs in the country, Hyderabad stood behind Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chandigarh.
In an interaction on the last working day of 2023, Regional Passport Officer Jonnalagadda Snehaja said that they were coming up with reforms so as to reduce the waiting time for a passport.
With five passport seva kendras (PSKs) and 14 post office passport seva kendras (PO-PSKs), the Regional Passport Office surpassed the previous year’s record of 6,43,157 passports issued. The tally in 2021 was 4,28,246.
Snehaja urged the applicants to time submission of their forms for new or renewals as per their travel schedule.
Speaking on the occasion, V. Balakrishna, director, Press Information Bureau, explained that around 15 passport seekers had fallen prey to fraudsters but were hesitant to lodge complaints.
Thanking the postal and police departments for their constant support and coordination, Snehaja said, “in order to cater to the growing demand in the region, RPO Hyderabad initiated 25 special drives on Saturdays.”
The inquiry appointment system has been recently overhauled in order to provide better services to applicants requiring additional documents.
Those missing out on online appointments scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Friday, can walk in without an appointment every Thursday between 9.30 am and 12 noon.
