Unravelling the much-hyped “Immediate Relief Package”, the UCPN-Maoist-led government today announced that it would start collecting the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) forms from all the 75 districts within a month.

“MRP form collection from the districts will be arranged in a month,” read a document, which states that such an arrangement is necessary to address the current hassles facing by the public for procuring passports.

From mid-July onwards, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), has been collecting MRP application forms from 38 district headquarters out of the Valley. The IRP is also mulling over additional token counters in order to lessen the public pressure at the Central Passport Office.

An official at MoFA, however, said there was nothing new in the IRP in terms of addressing the MRP issues, as the ministry had already planned to begin the MRP form collection process from all the districts.

When the form collection and passport distribution processes begin from the districts, one need not travel to the Capital for the same. Administrative offices of all the districts will forward the forms to MoFA through five-fixed collection centres and they would send them back to the same offices after issuance from the CPO.

Published on: 10 September 2011 | The Himalayan Times