BENGALURU: The delay in reopening the 23 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras across the state has been inconveniencing the public. Before the lockdown came into effect on March 25, these post offices were handling an average of 1,150 passport applications per day.S Rajendra Kumar, Postmaster General, Headquarter Region, Bengaluru, said, “It is a policy decision taken by our Board. So, we are yet to open them.”
An official said discussions are on between MEA and Postal Department to reopen PPSKs soon. “The inability of post offices to ensure social distancing has been cited as the reason. But all other activities are on. It does not make sense to keep this section alone closed,” the source said.Asked about the response, Regional Passport Officer, Bharath Kumar Kuthati, said, “We are only getting 500 to 600 applications per day as compared to nearly 3,000 till March.” He said, “We opened our back office at the head office Koramangala on Monday.”