The Passport Journey
This post is dedicated to the tiresome journey
that I had to face for getting “Passport”.
As graduation came to an end, the very next thing that I initiated was to
appear for Aspire Modules (For TCS joining date) and also in the meanwhile
apply for a fresh passport. I had heard a lot about the passport procedures.
Different people come out with different opinions when it comes to a single
topic. And so it happened with "Passport" too. Nevertheless it was me
who had to take a decision. So I opted to search for the right procedure. Guess
what Goggle helps!! And so it was me and Goggle in an endless interaction over
passport. On 3rd July 2014, I applied for the passport online through normal
scheme. It was very simple and things went smoothly (no power cut, no problem
with server etc). After all the formalities I received an appointment on 8th
July 2014. So as such I got my documents ready for the appointment.
This was my first venture to Passport Seva Kendra. I don't know why was I
scared. I even called my dad twice on phone, trying to gain confidence. I
reached the PSK office with the help of "Goggle Maps". I had to report
at 3.30 PM. I must say I was amazed to see the kind of service provided by the
people. I could at least regain my confidence level. The entire area was
divided into 4 main counters namely A,B,C and Exit. Everything was so
systematically organized. People were calling out names as per appointment
time. Giving preference to strict timings was the most important which I like
the most.
The best part of the journey is still to be unlocked. And so here it goes.
The people who were involved in validating my documents were actually TCS
employees. I was fascinated to see the way they were talking to the people.
That showed a sense of professionalism which many of us lack today. I hardly
concentrated on my purpose of visit. I was just looking them, their body language
and their friendly behavior with the applicants. This was the first and the
last time when I felt so happy in the entire passport process.
Bad days were near. And so did they arrive. I had to leave for Chandigarh
as my cousin sister was going to join a college for BBA studies. On 31st
July I received a mail from TCS regarding my joining on 25th
September 2014. It was 3rd of August 2014, but till then I got no
news of passport. I was supposed to be called by the local police station
officials for verification. Ankit, who had applied for the passport after me,
got the call from the police station in between 10-15th August,
2014. This was the thing which bugged me so I made plans to go back to Guwahati
to find out the truth. As such I visited Regional Passport Office. The office
hears your complain only between “10AM to 1PM” and I don’t know what do they do
after that. After standing in a long queue which protruded out of the office
premises, I managed to get in by 12.45 PM. The inquiring officer told me that
the passport as already reached SP office. On hearing this I was delighted but
this happiness stayed only for seconds when she continued saying that, “Oops,
your documents have reached wrong destination: Kamrup Rural”. District Kamrup
has two sub-divisions: Kamrup Rural and Kamrup Metro (To which I belong). I was
angry and determined at the same time. I travelled at once to SP Office Kamrup
Rural and reached there after 2 hours of struggle.
What can be more hilarious than a SP Office where not even a single
government official is given salary on time? Scouting for the passport section
(this was done by “bribing” unpaid constables) was the smallest step but a
large leap for the passport process. Finally I found my documents in lost and
found subsection of passport section. The person “who looked hungry” told me
that it would take a month for the documents to reach their correct place. I
was all impatient and literally shouted at the person, asking him to send it
today as I had no time left. He took me outside in “private” and asked for 100
rupees (for “tea” and “water”).Having no other choices left I had to pay him
for nothing. I took those documents and made my way to SP Office Kamrup Metro.
After a day-long struggle finally the passport documents came back to their
track.
On September 10th 2014, I had to go back to Amritsar to get
ready for TCS. 5 days before the journey I got a call from local police station
for passport verification (Meanwhile Ankit was all done with his passport
procedures). Luck was never good for me as I had to face the same problem there
too. For first three days I was made to sit on the bench without any reason. I
felt as I was arrested but being no room in “jail” I was made to sit on bench.
I just had 2 days left. Finally the officer came on the last day. He did only
one part of the work and told “I have other things to do, please come tomorrow”.
I explained him about my journey. As expected he replied demanding expenses for
“tea” and “water” (technically called “bribe”). Feeding him with a 500 rupee note,
the obese engine started working. Finally the verification process got over.
4 months later...
On January 13th 2015 while I was working at TCS, I received the
news that “Passport” has been sent to my address and on the next day it was
with my parents.
And so the journey from July 2014 to Jan 2015 ended. Suffice it to say that
I was not in an emergency and in fact I was considered lucky as there were
pending cases of 1-2 years.
P.S.: Please be prepared before applying for
passport
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