People Face Inconveniences & Unfriendly Staff at Mangaluru Passport Office
Mangaluru: In his communication to Team Mangalorean, a concerned citizen of Mangaluru, Dilraj Alva has stated, “Whenever I pass through the Passport Seva Kendra Mangaluru office, this is the glimpse I get most of the time. I believe that the ‘customer is the KING/Queen of all business, so he or she needs to be treated like a King/Queen, but the picture says it all!”
“I guess officials who are seated inside are clueless regarding the inconveniences that the customers are facing, due to the lack of seating arrangement in Passport Seva Kendra, be it the scorching heat or the heavy downpours. The customer may not always be young and energetic. The mass includes senior citizens, patients, women with kids and the disabled. So the focus should be on the customer and improving their experience. Officers should remember that the very neglected customers are the source of revenue for Passport Seva Kendra. After all, it’s not a charity, it’s a paid service”.
“I would recommend concerned authorities for the expansion of PSK with a good parking facility and a comfortable lobby for better customer experience. This message of mine is for the Dakshina Kannada District Administration, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and other concerned authorities”.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Ms Begum Hussain (Name changed) said, “I had a terrible experience coming here- first standing outside in the line bearing the treacherous heat, and once I sat in front of a staff who was not polite and unfriendly was the worst experience that I had faced. Being a professional working for a Fortune 500 company, I never expected such a harrowing experience at a passport office, in order to get my passport processed. In addition to my experience, the security man at the entrance was not friendly either. Such rude staff need to be replaced by friendly staff, and better facilities should be provided, which is my humble request”.
Sandra, who was with her little daughter who had come to get the passports, since she had to join her husband in Dubai soon said, “I arrived well in time and stood in the line for a long time. I couldn’t even get water for my daughter who was thirsty, since I didn’t see any water facility and also there was no shop nearby that I could run to and buy a bottle of water. When I asked the security if I could get some water to drink, he kind of turned a blind eye to my request. And once I was inside, I encountered utter confusion due to the urgency shown by the PP office staff in getting the task completed. He was not helpful at all and I was not able to get the task done on my own due to the extreme urgency shown by the staff”.
It is learnt that the general public is reluctant to lodge a complaint, fearing that the PP staff may intentionally delay the processing of their passports, and could have hard times. Many of the staff who intentionally show urgency while processing the PP have caused inconvenience to the general public, especially people who are illiterate and elderly. The office which is under the administration of the foreign ministry of the government of India needs some urgent changes in its operations, which at present is putting the general public in hardships, to get a passport.
As per sources, people who are applying for a new passport are not aware as to what is the procedure to get it done, among whom the plight of the illiterate, women and senior citizens is the worst. The office is extremely congested. There is no proper arrangement for the applicants to sit outside the entrance door of the centre. Even though several organizations and political parties, including politicians like Ivan D’Souza and U T Khader, had raised their voices citing the irregularities of the passport centre and the egoistic attitude of the staff a while ago, it seems like there has been no change in the functioning of this PP centre. People’s representatives also interacted with the officials of the passport centre based on the grievances raised by the general public. However, it seems this has fallen on deaf ears as no improvement can be seen on either front.
Team Mangalorean on behalf of the general public makes a humble request, “Let the centre be service-oriented. Let the officers and staff of this centre provide proper information and good service to people, and most of all are FRIENDLY and COURTEOUS, thereby making a difference after years of functioning of Mangaluru Passport Office. Thank You!
