Indian mission in UAE acts on passport troubles

Abu Dhabi: The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi will soon designate a consular official to deal with complaints about passport issuance and renewal, India's ambassador to the UAE told Gulf News.

"The consular section is already dealing with the complaints over the phone, but a designated official can address the grievances more efficiently," M.K. Lokesh said. He added thay teething problems that arose after a new agency — BLS International Services — took over Indian visa and passport services on April 6, had been sorted out.

As Gulf News had reported earlier, there had been widespread complaints of poor customer service and inordinate delay in issuing visas and passports after the outsourced services were taken up by the new agency.

Initial problems solved

The delay in issuing visas was subsequently addressed and the problems with passports had been resolved, Lokesh said.

"Now there are no pending passport applications. Passports issued in the UAE and outside the UAE are renewed within five working days and 40 working days respectively."

Asked about a complaint that a passport issued in Abu Dhabi was not renewed in time, the ambassador said there could be a few individual cases where the services had let people down, but the new grievance mechanism would resolve such glitches.

"When a designated official starts dealing with such individual complaints, the services will become perfect," he said

The ambassador made it clear that the embassy will deal with complaints rof applications submitted in Abu Dhabi only. The Consulate General in Dubai will look into complaints related to applications submitted in Dubai and the northern emirates, he said.

The ambassador said the embassy is investigating a complaint against an employee of BLS international Services in Abu Dhabi.

In a written complaint to Gulf News, a woman, who sought to notify a change in her name, said an employee at the agency asked her several personal questions amounting to mental harassment.