Update on my recent passport renewal under Tatkal category at Sai Arcade PSK Bangalore
I had to get my passport renewed because it was nearing the end of the 10 year period as well as change in particulars.
I had the following changes to be done:
1. Change of present address
2. Addition of spouse name
3. Delete ECR
Below are the documents and photocopies that I took in and were required for that purpose:
1. Gas Bill receipt
2. Old passport
3. PAN card
4. Aadhaar card
5. Marriage certificate
6. 10th pass certificate
7. Annexure E (for tatkaal)
Travel and the queue outside PSK
My slot was at 12 - 12:15 PM on August 8. I started from my home at Electronic city at 10:20 AM and reached the PSK parking at 11:30 AM. I went into the PSK complex and stood in a queue at around 11:35 AM, there were around 10 people ahead of me in the queue. A security lady came up and checked my appointment slot (showed the SMS) and she wrote the sequence number and the time on my passport photocopy. I was told to wait.
At around 11:50 AM the queue started moving and the security lady asked me to move to Counter #5 after checking the note she had made. I went inside the room and it was choc-a-block with people. Counter #5 deals specifically with tatkaal cases whereas I saw another 2 counters where normal cases were dealt with.
Token counter
After standing in the queue for approximately half an hour my turn came and I was told to provide all the documents. The lady at the counter took in my documents and asked me to wait for the token. I keep waiting and waiting and approximately at 12:30 learn that the passport officers had gone for lunch break - so they were not issuing tokens till they are back. Another excruciating hour later, I was called in, asked if I had 2000 Rs in cash and on affirmation handed a token to go in.
There is a xerox machine where you can get photocopies done for documents if you have forgotten something, 1 rs per copy; as well as get print outs of various Annexures (2 rs per copy). However, be ready to wait as there would be many who would have forgotten something or the other.
Counter A
I went in and find around 20 odd people waiting for their turn. There is a small CCD counter inside where you can buy sandwiches / coffee and stuff. Thankfully, my turn came in about 10 minutes - slots are displayed on screen mounted above.
I went to the designated counter and the person (apparently from TCS) started to scan my documents, take my photo and my finger prints. They also show the application screen and ask if all the details are correct. The process was quite fast and I was done in about 5 - 6 minutes. You have to pay the remaining tatkaal fee of 2000 Rs here. I was asked if I wanted to opt in for SMS updates, if YES then pay another 50 Rs. They also try to sell an optional passport cover, saying you won't get that anywhere else - I politely declined.
There are approximately 10 - 15 counters, so your slot in this section comes quite fast.
I moved out to a small cramped area (which does not have enough chairs) and started waiting for my slot at Counter B.
Counter B
It had 4 passport officers who were checking in the cases. Bottleneck starts
2 out of those were processing tatkaal, however they also processed normal cases in between. Had to wait for approximately half an hour before my turn came. I was asked to produce the originals for all the documents that I had submitted. After close scrutiny for about 5 - 10 minutes, my case was given a pass and I was asked to move to Counter C.
Passport officers are quite harried here (maybe because of the crowd), so please be affable and courteous. Few people got stern looks and sarcastic comments because of silly reasons.
Now I move to another spot where Counter C applicants are waiting. I was very hungry and did not have chance to grab anything earlier - thankfully had a few chocolate bars which gave some respite. People going in at around lunch time please have some backup food.
Counter C
The greatest bottleneck - only 1 passport officer (don't know if it was the case only that day) who is the final authority. Had to wait till around 4 PM for my slot to come in. Everything was again checked in originals and then finally, the officer asked her assistant to mark the current passport cancelled.
I immediately get an SMS which says my application has been granted ton
Post Police Verification basis.
Before getting out of the PSK, you need to submit the token which has a feedback section in the back - you need to fill your particulars and submit to the security before being let out.
I go the parking, pay the parking fees (they try to simply fleece you by quoting absurd amount - be firm and pay by the board which has the charges). It had started raining and I get caught slightly in the evening traffic but reached home in an hour's time.
SMS updates
I get SMS updates that my passport has gone for printing that evening itself. It was posted the next day from Bangalore BNPL along with an India post tracking number.
Using the tracking number I tracked that the passport had arrived to the Electronic City post office on Saturday, 10 August - 2 days later.
Police Verification
I get a call on Sunday evening from the Electronic City police station to come in the next day for verification. Next day, I called the police officer, but was asked to come next day as he was out on duty.
I go in on Tuesday, 13 August around 10:30 AM with all the documents and a set of photocopies. Everything else was fine, but the officer also asked to see the rent agreement - he made a comment that it was not notarized and that I need to be a resident of the present address for atleast 6 months. I politely reminded him its almost 5.5 months now (I was staying there from March 2019), he responded saying that he will have to take permission from the Commissioner's office (please note that all these are just scare mongering techniques, which is directly correlated to
fees which he asked for at the end, I paid 100 Rs just for peace of mind and there was no response from the police officer).
I got a SMS on 14 August (next day) that a clear report has been filed for my current address.
Receipt of passport
I received the passport on 13th August (same day as police verification). My wife received the passport, the postman just asked my wife what her relation with me was and handed over the passport.
So overall, it took 5 days for the passport to reach me. Overall the experience was Ok, atleast I was kept informed at each step. Although it took me almost 4 hours for my PSK process, which I definitely think can be streamlined.