Kathmandu. Even on the day of the public holiday, there is a crowd of passport makers in the passport (passport) department. In South Korea, there is a rush of (EPS) e-passport e-passport for the application of {{}(EPS). 

The department has made arrangements to distribute passports even on public holidays in view of the pressure of service seekers. The Department has made arrangements to provide passport service from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays even on public holidays. 

There has been a crowd of service seekers since Sunday morning in the department. The service seekers who came to the department to make passports have complained that could not get the passport on time. 

Service recipient Tilak Bahadur Gharti Magar complained that the fast-track service was also not effective, although the Department has claimed to have eased the passport service.He complained that he has not received his passport even after coming to Kathmandu from Rolpa for more than a week to prepare the passport for the EPS examination. He said that it was difficult to open the website to apply initially, and it was said that the passport would be ready in three days after applying and SMS wouldbe received. 

Stating that there is a risk of losing the deadline of the application for EPS due to delay in passport, he urged the government to make the service fast and systematic.

The Department of Passport has also admitted that there is some problem in the distribution of passports due to the stabilization of the new system and the sudden increase in the pressure of due to the stabilization of the new system and the application of EPS. According to Di pak Banja de, director of the department, although there is no shortage of passports, some service recipients have not been able to get passports on time due to technical error in the system. He said that the ‘urgent’ passport service will be made available within two working days (48 working hours). He said that there are some challenges to provide service on time as thousands of additional applications are received daily due to the application of EPS. 

Files with technical error may take one more working day, he said. Director Banjade said that most of the service recipients have been sent SMS informing them about the passport being prepared or uploading the required documents. According to him, some service recipients could not get the message when the amount to be paid to the SMS service provider company was exhausted a few days ago. But now the problem has been resolved, he said. 

According to Banjade, the passport process was also halted due to problems in coordination with the National Identity Card (NID) system of some service recipients.He said that arrangements have been made to resolve the problem by deputing NID employees in the department. Director Banjade has also urged the service seekers to apply only for those who need it. He said that there was no shortage of passports, adding that the number of service seekers has increased due to rumors of lack of passport. He also said that the department is preparing to open the passport application form from next week to one month. Those who do not need immediate service are requested to apply after some time. 

Currently, the department has made arrangements to print and distribute 1,500 passports daily.The Department has made arrangements to apply for and distribute passports in two shifts from August 29 to August 22 targeting the application for EPS . According to the department, the first shift is being run from 7 am to 2 pm and the second shift is from 2 pm to 9 pm. According to the department, the service is available from 10 am to 4 pm even on Saturdays and Sundays as public holidays.