The application
My passport is due to expire in
May 2014 and I decided to start the renewal process to take care of any contingencies.
I browsed the internet to understand the process of passport renewal and found
that it is now possible to renew the passport by applying online without the
requirement of an agent. I applied online through the website
passportindia.gov.in. I got an appointment of 3rd January 2014,
which was over a month away.
The D-day
I had received the appointment
for 11:45 am and I was supposed to report at 11:30 am. I started early enough
to spend some time near the centre but I reached just in time. There is no
parking within the building, which is located in an area known as Mundhwa, about
15 mins from Bund Garden. You have to drive to the end of the north main road
of Koregaon Park and then take a right to reach the passport office. The office
is actually located in a private building known as “zero one”. Don’t waste your
time by taking your car near the building. Instead just to the left of the
building there is a paid parking available on a large open ground.
I was expecting the entire
episode to get over in a matter of 2 hours, since mine was the case of renewal
or “reissue” as referred to in the application form, therefore I took my mom
with me so that we could catch some delicious Dum Biryani in the Pune camp
area. I was up for a surprise. Applicants for the appointment time 11:30 am
formed a queue and were being allowed inside the building by the security.
There was another queue, which I joined after I got know it was for 11:45 am
batch. Within 15 minutes, we were inside the building. I had to request the
security to allow my mom to come in with me. As we barely walked inside the
premises, we joined another queue. This was the security check queue. We
cleared it in about 20 minutes, but my mom was politely asked to remain
outside.
Once inside the office, I could see
about 8 counters similar to a bank. One on the left was meant for reissue. I
joined that line. The counter on the extreme right was meant for tatkal
applicants. This was just a start of an extremely tiring and sometimes mentally
frustrating process. I could see a lot of applicants carrying bags full of
documents and Xeroxes. It took me a full one hour to reach the counter. The
lady asked my appointment print out, then my old passport in original and
xerox, and asked whether I wanted any changes to the passport. I requested her
to add the name of my wife to which she asked for the original and Xerox copy
of our marriage certificate. On being satisfied, she asked me to stand on one
side and continued with next person.
I stood by the side for another
hour. During this period many others joined me and many others were already
waiting before me. All through the wait I was feeling guilty of bringing my
mother to the place. I was wondering where she would be waiting, since there is
no designated area in the premises for visitors to wait. My name was finally
called and the lady gave me a token number (N-301) and a khaki file containing
the xeroxes I had submitted.
Round A
I was asked to go to the adjacent
hall. This hall had seating arrangement, but I decided to visit the loo, being
sure that my number will take time. In the loo, I heard a passport official
announcing the token numbers N298, N299, N300, N301…..N301….N301. I could
hardly believe that within minute of getting the token, my number was announced.
I rushed out from the loo and caught hold of the person. He asked me to check
the LCD screen for the counter no. against my token. I could see the counter
number was A23, to which I rushed. When I reached A23, the lady at the desk
told me that I was late and she had switched to the next token number. I was flabbergasted.
I could hardly afford these delays with my mom waiting outside. The lady asked
me to wait until my token number was announced again. I sat down on a bench,
wherein I could see a few other applicants who too had missed their chance. It
must have been a 10 minute wait until I could see my token number flashing
again on the screens. This time I had to go to A24. Even before the passport
official could announce my name I had zoomed at A24. An earlier applicant was
still scanning her finger prints and I was asked to wait.
This was a young lady, who had
two monitors on her desk, one facing her and the other facing me. She had a
scanner on her right, a SLR camera mounted on stand in the front of her desk
along with finger print scanning machine. She probably was an employee of TCS,
who manages the facility in collaboration with Ministry of External affairs.
The lady asked for my khaki file. She asked for the original passport and
marriage certificate. She scanned all the documents including the application
form, which I had submitted online. She then typed in my details on some online
form. She sounded a little rude, when she said she could not fit my address in
the field. She was forcing me to allow her to skip some words in my address to which
I was adamant. I consider passport as a best documentary proof for address and
identity, she was up to ruin it all. After some verbal juggling we finally
settled on a compromise, which was good for both of us. The form was filled;
documents scanned, and then came the photograph. In the new system you are not
required to carry any photographs. I was asked to sit tight and smile into the
lenses of the digital SLR camera. I think it was a burst shot, since I could
see multiple photos of mine on the monitor, she chose one that she thought was
the best. Then came the finger prints. I was asked to place the left hand
fingers except the thumb on the machine. Then the right hand fingers without
the thumb followed by just the left and right thumbs. She cancelled my old
passport by applying a stamp. I was done with Round A.
Round B
I was asked to go to the adjacent
hall for round B. Round B happens in the right half of the hall at counters
designated as B-1 through B10. There was a huge crowd waiting on curiously
checking the displays for their token numbers. However being lunch time all the
counters were empty. I waited here for about 45 minutes. I was thirsty and
hungry. It is a very good idea to carry a bottle of water and some snacks. In fact
they have a small snacks corner in the waiting hall for round A, but you may
hardly get time to check it. Once the officials were back from lunch, things
started moving fast. However I still had about 150 tokens to be cleared before
mine. I believe the Pune PSK clears more than 1000 applications a day. There
was no place to sit since most of the seats were occupied. I was impatient to
get through the process, which was also a reason why I wanted to stand and
stare at the displays trying to find my token no. Staring at a screen, causes
lot of strain to your eyes, this is especially true if you do it for about 45
minutes. Scanning through the numbers, I was confused to even recognize that my
token number was flashing on the screen. However once I realized I reached the
counter in no time. I had to wait since the earlier applicant was still not
done. I had met this applicant earlier; he wanted a tatkal passport to visit
Germany on the 13th of January. The tatkal passport requires you to
bring a letter from an IAS or similar gazetted officer. Thus you will have to
be friends with an IAS officer or senior central government officials to apply
for tatkal passport. For tatkal applicants although the passport is issued in
about 10 days, these fellows have to spend a lot of time explaining the
passport officials about the reason for tatkal passport and the supporting documentation.
Once I was at the desk a middle
aged passport official reviewed my khaki file and within no time directed me to
round C.
Round C
I went back to the waiting hall.
Again the same process of scanning the display for my token number to show up.
It may have taken about 15 minutes, when I went for my final round. I reached
one of the C counters. It was super fast. I was out in less than a minute.
Exit
The process was not yet done; we
had to submit the token number sheet at a window near exit. The fellow at the
counter issued a receipt that told details about the police verification, etc. I
was hoping that in my case police verification would not be required, but the
receipt said I had to. It was my trophy of the day. I had finally completed the
process in 3 and half hours. I was tired, thirsty, hungry and had sore eyes.
Outside I met my mom who had found company with another lady who too was
waiting for her husband. The saga shall now continue to the police station
until I am verified.
Points to be remembered while visiting Pune PSK
- Be careful to apply for renewal or new passport as per your requirement.
- Check the road map to Pune PSK well in advance, if you are late you may not be allowed inside and will have to repeat the entire process again losing time and money.
- Don't take your vehicle at the gates, park it at the adjacent paid parking for complete peace of mind.
- Bring with yourself a water bottle and some snacks. The best thing would be to take a heavy breakfast or brunch before leaving for the Passport office.
- Bring original and signed xerox copies of all the relevant documents. A list is mentioned on the passport website www.passportindia.gov.in Don't leave any document at home. They can ask for your original degree certificate even when you are going for a renewal of your passport.
- The process is slow in the initially when the documents are reviewed. Whereas the last two rounds don't take much time for a normal renewal.
- Tatkal passport applicants should be very careful with their documents. They should be ready with answers to all possible questions.
Best of Luck !
