Lucknow: The Regional Passport Office (RPO), Lucknow, will keep all its four Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and 33 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) open on Saturday, Aug 1, under a special passport service drive to clear the backlog of passport appointments.Regional passport officer Gyanveer Singh said the special drive was planned after a surge in passport applications following the increase in passport fees on June 24, which resulted in a heavy rush for appointment slots. The additional working day is aimed at reducing the pending appointments and enabling more applicants to complete passport formalities at the earliest.Fee hike notification came on June 24, and within six days, almost every slot was booked for the entire calendar year. The new fee structure was implemented from July 1.Additional appointment slots will be available at all 37 passport service centres under the RPO’s jurisdiction. Applicants can book appointments through the Passport Seva Portal (www.passportindia.gov.in) and visit the allotted centre with the required original documents and photocopies.“We expect to handle more than 4,000 passport appointments on Aug 1,” he added.The RPO also announced that from Aug 17, only applicants with a valid online appointment will be allowed to attend the Public Grievance Redressal Programme at the Regional Passport Office.In another citizen-friendly initiative, the Regional Passport Office will become the first govt office in Lucknow to introduce a creche facility for children accompanying applicants visiting the office for passport-related grievances.
