Dubai: It took Dr Sanjay Paithankar, an Indian, to draft a letter to the Indian embassy and a frantic call to Gulf News to get his passport retrieved.
Empost passport centres that went into operations last month across the country are currently the only reliable source to submit applications for all Indian passport related matters.
The doctor had applied for renewing his passport on March 4 at the passport centre in Sharjah. The delivery date given to him was March 11, but he got his passport only on March 16.
He said that panic set in when he approached a staff at the passport centre on March 11 and was informed that they had submitted his passport to the Indian Consulate and had not yet returned at the centre.
"I then tried their tracking system. That too was unable to track my passport. I then wrote a letter to the Indian embassy. I was told I will be receiving a call from Consul-Passport, but one week passed and no one got in touch with me. I had no other choice but to approach the newspaper and I got my passport," claimed Paithankar.
He said he was shocked to see some people walking straight up to the counter staff and submitting their applications without having to fall in line like the rest of the people.
Gulf News has been receiving complaints from applicants, who had visited the Empost passport centres in the Northern Emirates, of staff indulging in favouritism and having to telephone Indian Consulate staff to satisfy applicant query.
"I was informed that the passport centres are open from 7am to 10pm but that is not the case in Sharjah. When I visited the place at around 1pm I was told to come in the evening as they only issue 70 tokens in the morning and 70 tokens in the evening. When I went in the evening I missed out on the token again. Then I went to the Ajman passport centre and over there I was directed back to Sharjah. I had no choice but to go back to the Sharjah passport centre the next day," claimed another Indian expat.
The Indian Consulate when contacted with these complaints said that Consul General Venu Rajamony is meeting with senior officials of Empost.
A statement issued read: "The outsourcing project is still in its initial stage and there, unfortunately, have been some teething problems. Embassy/Consulate and Empost officials are working day and night to rectify them. Every effort is being made to resolve the issues. All individual complaints may be forwarded to the Consulate, so that they are expeditiously addressed."
Abdullah Ebrahim Al Juwaied, Deputy CEO, Courier Affairs, Empost, said that complaints regarding favours being carried out by the Empost staff for friends couldn't be verified independently.
He said: "However, no such practices will be tolerated by the management and strict instructions are given to all to ensure services are provided on a first come basis. We are aware of space constraints at the current premises and will be opening up another centre at the Indian Association very soon to contain this."
On Empost staff calling up consulate officials on queries made by applicants, Al Juwaied said: "This is not a normal query. When an applicant requires Tatkal service [urgent delivery service], we need to get an approval from the Consulate before we can accept. This is a mandatory requirement and may take some time if their lines are busy. As for Sharjah residents not being able to submit applications at the Ajman centre, we are resolving the issue of speed [bandwidth] at all centres and the same will be up and running in a day or two."
Al Juwaied agreed on the delay caused in the delivery of Paithankar's passport and said that Empost would like to assure all applicants that it is committed to providing a hassle-free experience.
