Patiala, November 3: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today inaugurated a Passport Seva Kendra here at the General Post Office to facilitate passport services for the residents of Patiala and Sangrur.
The second such Passport Seva Kendra in Punjab and the 59th in the country, the centre would initially accept 50 applications for fresh and re-issuance of passport on a daily basis, which would be gradually enhanced to 200, the Chief Minister announced.
Captain Amarinder, who interacted with some of the applicants at the Kendra, said those who had already registered for appointments at RPO Chandigarh and Ambala could request for rescheduling their appointments at the Patiala Passport Seva Kendra. The services of Tatkal, PCC and other miscellaneous services would, however, continue to be provided by the Regional Passport Offices Chandigarh and Ludhiana.
Prominent amongst others who were present on the occasion were Cabinet Ministers Brahm Mahindra, Navjot Singh Sidhu & Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Chief Minister’s Media Advisor Raveen Thukral and Former External Affairs Minister Preneet Kaur, along with Patiala MP Dr. Dharamvir Gandhi.
Others present on the occasion included Regional Passport Officer Chandigarh Shivas Kaviraj; Lt. Col A K Singh, Director Passport Seva Project, Ministry of External Affairs, GOI; Deputy Passport Officers RPO Chandigarh Amit Kumar Rawat and Munish Kapoor, as well as Chief Postmaster General, Punjab and Chandigarh, Salim Haque, Director Postal Services Manisha Bansal Badal and other senior officers of RPO Chandigarh and Post Office Patiala.