BENGALURU: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Bengaluru has come in for much appreciation from a family for going out of its way to ensure a senior citizen couple got their passports in record time to rush to the US following their daughter-in-law’s death. 69-year-old VR Sharma and Nirmala Sharma (64), residents of Mysuru, received the shocking news from their son on Friday morning about the passing away of their ailing young daughter-in-law in New York.
To book their tickets, Sharma took out their passports, which had a 10-year valid visa to the US.
He, however, was stunned to learn that it was on the verge of expiry. “We were somehow under the impression that our passport was valid till November 2023 and we needed to renew it next year. I was shocked to note that it was expiring in November 2022 itself. It left us dumbfounded,” he told TNIE.
A family member immediately contacted the RPO in Bengaluru via e-mail and they responded positively. “We started from Mysuru by car in the morning and told them about it. We reached the Regional Passport Office in Koramangala at 2.30 pm. Our old passport and a few documents were presented and our thumb impressions and photos were taken. By 4 pm we got our passports in hand,” he said.
The couple, accompanied by the relative, met Regional Passport Officer K Krishna to thank him for the help. “I would call this excellent service,” he said. Nirmala added, “The Passport Office deserves all praise and blessings for prompt response.” The couple later rushed to Mysuru to book their flight tickets and pack for their trip.