Kalpetta: Wayanad district will soon be linked to the passport seva network. The postal department has joined hands with the Ministry of External Affairs to provide facilities for a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) facility, adjacent to the new head post office building in Wayanad.

At present, the people of Wayanad have to travel to Kozhikode to sort out passport-related needs. Though there were attempts to launch a POPSK facility in Wayanad in 2023, finding the right place and delays in inter-departmental communications had slowed down the move.

Kozhikode Regional Passport Officer Arunmohan K said that hectic behind-the-scenes efforts are on to establish a POPSK facility in Wayanad as the district is the only one sans any passport seva facilities. " The facility, an extended arm of the passport office network, aims to minimize the problems faced by people for availing the services as well as to reduce the burden on the Regional Passport Office in Kozhikode,'' he said. POPSK is an extended arm of the passport office which would cater to almost all the passport-related services.

Such a POPSK facility is already functioning at Kasargod while all other districts in the state have their own Passport Seva Kendras. Arunmohan said that post-Covid the need for passport services has increased manifold with more and more people travelling to foreign destinations. "The number of students opting for higher studies in foreign countries has also increased,'' he added.

Among the districts, Kozhikode, which receives applications for an average of 1,400 passports per day, tops the chart, whereas Malappuram district with 1,200 applications per day is in the second slot.

The officials said that the finishing works for the facility at the head post office building at Kalpetta are in the final phase. Employees were provided training. A team from the 'Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV)' division of the Ministry of External Affairs has already examined the facilities and once the green signal is received the POPSK facility will be launched.