Posted by New Delhi:India’s Passport Seva portal, which allows thousands of applicants every day to avail of passport-related services, is down due to technical issues. The website’s landing page displayed a notice on Friday that it is “under maintenance” and will start functioning by 1200 hours on March 29.
Notice displayed on the passportindia.gov.in portal’s homepage
Many people took to social media to flag issues faced in filling out the online application or booking appointments for their visits at the Passport Seva Kendras across the country.
For the past three days, a technical glitch has been disrupting passport application processes, causing inconvenience to applicants. Despite numerous attempts, officials from the Passports Seva division of the Ministry of External Affairs could not be reached for comment. However, a representative handling the division’s toll-free helpline confirmed that bookings were not being processed due to portal issues, Indian Express reported.
“Due to some technical issue, the website has been down for the last three days. Our technical team is working on it. We haven’t received any time frame for the resumption of normal services. People haven’t been able to book appointments in the last few days,” a person managing the helpline was quoted as saying.
The issue left people miffed as they were left with no immediate option to complete their passport issuance or renewal process. Many took to social media to express their ire and seek resolution from the government.
Citizens use the portal, passportindia.gov.in, for booking appointments at 523 Passport Seva Kendras, Post Office Passport Seva Kendras and regional passport offices for fresh issuance of passports, reissue of passports and other miscellaneous services.