BENGALURU: Passport officials rose to the occasion when they heard about retired government employee Arun Kumar Srivastava’s medical condition and the need for an emergency issue of his passport. The septuagenarian, who is ailing from blood cancer, was asked to come to the head office at Koramangala only for his biometrics and sent home immediately. All other procedures were waived.
The family took Srivastava from their home at Hebbal to the RPO on Wednesday and completed the formalities. The passport was dispatched to his house. His son Kush Srivastava, management consultant and author, told TNIE, “My father is not responding as expected to treatment here. Since my brother is in the US, we are considering taking him there for treatment. His condition could also deteriorate. It is an emergency situation, as we can apply for a visa only after the passport is ready.”
Lauding Regional Passport Officer K Krishna, Srivastava said he sent a mail on August 25, explaining his father’s situation. “We did not want him to take the usual route of visiting a Passport Seva Kendra with his application, as the chances of him catching an infection in his present condition are high. I got a call asking me to come on Monday or Wednesday. The process was completed within 40 minutes,” he said.
Srivastava said, “The staff went out of their way to help. It felt really good to see government offices functioning so efficiently and with such empathy.” Krishna told TNIE, “We wanted to ensure the senior citizen did not undergo any strain and had minimal public contact, but fingerprints and a photo are compulsory. This cannot be waived, so we ensured they were completed in the shortest time at the main office. The passport has already been dispatched.”