Passport Department Faces Overwhelming Demand Amidst EPS Application Rush

Kathmandu. Even on public holidays, the Department of Passports is witnessing a crowd of people applying for passports. There is a rush of service recipients at the department to get e-passports for applying for the Employment Permit System (EPS) in South Korea. The department has arranged to distribute passports even on public holidays, considering the rush of service recipients. The department has stated that it has arranged to provide passport services on Saturdays and Sundays, which are public holidays, from 10 am to 4 pm. A crowd of service recipients has been seen at the department since Sunday morning to collect passports. Service recipients who came to the department to get passports have complained about not receiving passports on time. Although the department claims to have eased the passport service flow, service recipient Tilak Bahadur Gharti Magar complained that even the fast-track service was not effective. He complained that it has been more than a week since he came to Kathmandu from Rolpa to get a passport for the EPS exam, but he still hasn't received it. He said that initially, there was difficulty in even applying because the website was not opening. He complained that although it was said that the passport would be ready in three days after applying and an SMS would be sent, no message has been received yet. Fearing the risk of missing the last deadline for the EPS application due to the delay in the passport, he urged the government to make the service faster and more organized. The Department of Passports has also admitted that there have been some problems in passport distribution due to the stabilization of the new system and the sudden increase in the rush of service recipients due to the EPS application. According to the department's director, Deepak Banjade, although there is no shortage of passports, some service recipients have not been able to get passports on time due to technical errors in the system. He stated that the 'urgent' passport service has been arranged to be provided within two working days (48 working hours). He said that due to thousands of additional applications daily because of the EPS application, it is challenging to provide services within the stipulated time. He informed that it might take an additional working day for files with technical errors. Director Banjade said that information about passport readiness or the need to upload necessary documents is sent to most service recipients via SMS. According to him, the message could not reach some service recipients a few days ago because the payment for the SMS service provider company was due. However, he said that this problem has now been resolved. According to Banjade, the passport process was also halted due to coordination problems with the National Identity Card (NID) system for some service recipients. For this, he said that arrangements have been made to resolve the problem by deploying NID employees at the department. Director Banjade urged service recipients to apply only if absolutely necessary. He mentioned that the rush of service recipients has also increased due to rumors of a passport shortage, stating that there is no passport shortage. The department also informed that it is preparing to open passport application forms for one month starting next week. He urged service recipients who do not have an immediate need to apply after some time. The department has arranged to print and distribute 1,500 passports daily. Targeting the EPS application, the department has arranged to process and distribute passports in two shifts from July 14 to July 22. According to the department, the first shift is operating from 7 am to 2 pm, and the second shift is operating from 2 pm to 9 pm. The department has stated that it is providing services from 10 am to 4 pm even on Saturdays and Sundays, which are public holidays.