Hyderabad: Passport collection a harrowing ordeal as scores gather at office

HYDERABAD: Retrieving their passports from local authorities has become a harrowing task for international passengers returning to Hyderabad.
Directed to collect them from the Rangareddy district collector’s office in Lakdikapul, passengers say that they are forced to wait for hours and wade through huge crowds — with no social distancing norms in place — to collect the document.
“When we reached the office around 2 pm on Wednesday, as was suggested by officials there, we were shocked to see at least 300 people waiting for their passports. Everybody was crowding around the counter with no distance between them. It was scary to stand there. Even the guard was not wearing a mask,” said a passenger who recently completed his 14-day quarantine period. “I returned without collecting my passport. I’ll go some other day now,” he added.
As per norms, those undergoing institutional quarantine are handed over their passport at the hotel at the end of the seven-day period while those isolating at home have to visit the collector’s office for their passports after two weeks. The passports are collected from the passengers at the airport on arrival.
While the Rangareddy collector could not be reached despite several attempts, an official from the collectorate TOI spoke to insisted that all precautionary measures were being taken while disbursing passports. “People are being made to wait outside the gate and let inside only in small batches. There is no reason for people to worry,” the official said.