More than 79K passports issued in March; Bengaluru tops list in Karnataka, Mangaluru second
Applications for new passports, renewal increase post-pandemic
Bengaluru: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) here issued its highest number of passports in Karnataka – 79,027 – in the month of March, to new applicants and to people who applied for a renewal.
The Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Bengaluru issued the maximum number of passports in the state in March, with the PSKs in Mangaluru, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and Mysuru following, reports Times of India.
The application for passports had fallen drastically following the outbreak of Covid and the ban on international travel. Post-pandemic, however, the number of new applicants as well as people seeking renewal of their passports started steadily rising.
While the PSKs found it difficult to handle the high number of applications due to shortage of staff in 2021, currently, appointments for new passports and certificates for police clearance are made available at least once a week.
“Since early 2022, there is a steady hike in passport applications, the number of which has risen as people have been travelling overseas for jobs and tourism. On a daily basis, the PSK in Lalbagh receives an average of more than 1,700 applications and the process is completed for more than 1,500. At the Marathalli PSK, we get 850 applications, process about 800 applications and issue the passports every day,” said Krishna K, IFS officer at the Bengaluru RPO.
Nearly 55,000 passports were processed in Karnataka in March 2022, after the Covid problem. The number steadily increased through the year, and the period between October and December 2022 witnessed an issuance of as high as 1,97,018 passports.
Between January and March this year, up to 2,14,788 passports are learned to have been issued. The number is only expected to increase through the year.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
