Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi (SN/SP)

Mangalore, Oct 4: "A full-fledged passport office will be established by the end of December this year in the city," assured minister of state in the ministry of foreign affairs Anand Sharma.

He raised the hopes and expectations of the citizens of Mangalore on this front, by giving the above assurance to a delegation led by P V Mohan, Convener of 'Social Struggle for Empowerment' organization, which met him recently. "As Mangalore meets all the pre-requisites for setting up of a full-fledged passport office there, it would not be difficult for us to meet this request," he remarked.

The delegation had met minister Anand Sharma at New Delhi to discuss and convince him about the necessity to upgrade the passport applications collection centre of Mangalore into a full-fledged passport office. Though the city complies with all the eligibility criterion for having the passport office, the ministry has not yet sanctioned the same to the city as yet. Even the parliamentary standing commmittee has recommended for the opening of a new passport office in Mangalore, the delegation pointed out.

The minister, who collected all the details from the delegation, promised to establish the office before the end of this year. On this occasion, the delegation also met union minister Oscar Fernandes to discuss this issue. The delegation drew the minister's attention to the fact that only a single passport office is functional in Karnataka as against four passport offices each in Kerala and Tamilnadu states. The office if opened, can cater to the needs of people living in the neighbouring districts like Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Shimoga too, the delegation told the minister.