Hyderabad passport office struggles to meet demand amid passport booklet shortage

Hyderabad: Passport shortages have caused chaos and delays for applicants at the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Hyderabad. The demand for passports has been steadily increasing, and the RPO in Hyderabad is struggling to keep up with the demand.

Twitter users have expressed their concerns about the passport application process with @uskhyd pointing out that the booklet shortage is not just in Hyderabad but also in many passport offices worldwide. Another Twitter user, Neeraj Kumar, claimed that the staff at the passport office in Hyderabad were asking people to cancel their tatkal slots and instead do the process in normal mode.

One frustrated user, @SuprSamurai, expressed disappointment with the technological infrastructure of the passport office, suggesting that the manual submission process may be more efficient.

According to sources, the delays are primarily caused by a shortage of passport booklets. While police verification has been completed, printing has been delayed due to the lack of booklets, causing a backlog of applications.

A passport agent who wishes to stay anonymous said, “There is a shortage of granting officers in Counter C at the RPO Hyderabad. The granting officer of Counter C is responsible for granting and initiating police verification. Due to a shortage of officers, the work is being delayed, causing additional frustration for applicants.”

He further clarified, “There is no shortage of booklets as previously reported, and the delay in finding a slot for regular/tatkal is primarily due to the high number of applicants.” However, he did suggest that those in urgent need of a passport could try booking a slot in Chennai.

Many individuals from Hyderabad are currently travelling to Chennai and districts such as Karimnagar and Mahabubnagar to secure passport slots. The slots in the districts of Siddipet and Warangal are already full. Alternatively, individuals who require an urgent passport are choosing to travel to Nizamabad where slots are available.