& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

One-stop passport service boon for applicants

Centres at post office, bank prove competence in a month

R1ZANUZZAMAN LASKAR
When Mushfiqur Rahman set off from his home on an overcast Monday, he thought it was going to be a rowdy morning.
He would turn up at die General Post Office (GPO) on the way to his office and submit the application form for his new passport. Widi an hour spent on the queue at the GPO, he should reach office the by 10:00am -- an hour later than the usual office hour, Rahman thought bitterly.
But he cannot help doing so. He desperately needed the passport for the upcoming foreign tour from the office.
To his surprise, Rahman reached his office by 9:00am as his time spent at the GPO barely lasted for five minutes.
"I was quite amazed," said Rahman, "I heard stories from my friends and relatives how they spent hours, days after days, taking the trouble to stand in queues just to submit the application form at Agargaon passport office."
"Butinmycaseljustwentto the GPO counter that deals with passport applications. I handed over the application documents and the money. The clerk at the counter did some paperwork and gave me a slip with a delivery date," he said, "the whole procedure took only a few minutes."
Apparently, the postal department has been able to win the confidence of a good number of passport seekers in its first month of working as an agent of Department of Immigration and Passport.
When the passport authorities announced its collaboration with the postal services earlier, many people expressed scepticism about the department's ability to conduct the important responsibility of distributing passports.
However, a little over a month later, many of those cynics say they are satisfied with the service.
Mozammel Hossain, a resident of Paribagh, said, "1\vo years ago I had to get my father's passport processed as we were planning to take him abroad for medical treatment. Only after series of trouble-some work, were we able to get the passport.'' .
, "Now I have no complaints. This time I had to spend around 15 minute in total at the local sub-post office to obtain his passport. And I got it only 15 days after I applied for." he said.
The postal department started its one-stop passport services in 12 post offices and sub post offices in the city on September24.
The post offices and sub post offices at General Post Office (GPO), Sadar Post Office, Demra, Cantonment, Mirpur-2, New Market, Uttara, Mohammadpur, Gulshan, Banani and Wari have special counters that deal with pass-port- related services.
Applicants can collect application forms, submit the form along with the required charge and collect passport on due date from the same counter.
A service charge of Tk 200 is to be paid for the purpose.
"You get all the services in once place. That is, why, the sendee is called one-stop passport service," said Harunur Rashid, senior postmaster of Dhaka GPO.
Seventeen branches of Trust Bank are also operating special counters for one-stop passport services.
"Honestly speaking, when I first heard about it, I was surprised. Why should they [passport authorities] want the postal department, one of most inefficient and sluggish government bodies, to handle a delicate matter like passport," said Faisal Hossain, a resident ofDhanmondi.
"I was rather worried because I had to get passport for my young daughter. But the postal department did not disappoint me. Everything went on smoothly," he said.
After the passport department signed contracts with the postal department and a private bank under the Passport Agent Licensing Act 2007, a
section of passport officials feat, tlj.it tile passport issuance procedure with the commercial bank and post office may increase the chance of fake applicants getting Bangladeshi passport.
Authenticity of the applicants remains questionable as they appear before post office and bank officials who are not experienced in passport and immigration matters, they said.
However, several passport officials said chances of fraudulence are minimal.
"The bank and post offices are just receiving the fees and application, and distributing the passports. It is still the passport authority that is responsible for issuing the passport," said an official at Department of Immigration and Passport.
"If there are any discrepancies in the application forms, it is expected that we would be able to identify it," said the official requesting anonymity.
Sources at the postal departrr^jiL^aid they qre receiving aroup^ ,to ,160 passport applications daily in the 12 post offices and sub post offices in the capital.
"All the applications submitted to the post offices are sent to the General Post Office, from where they are sent off to the passport office for processing," said Harunur Rashid. "So far the response has been satisfactory. And we hope to continue the service at a good pace," he added.
"As the new scheme is still at its early stage chances of some minor discrepancies in the process are not unlikely. We hope things will get better in future,” said Nazrul Islam, deputy director (Administration) of. Department of Immigration and Passports.
As per the contract with the Department of Immigration and Passport, 64 head post offices throughout the country are working as passport agent for the department.