Ahluwalia demands passport seva kendra in Siliguri

EOI, Siliguri, 29 August 2014: Darjeeling MP Surendra Singh Ahluwalia on Friday demanded that a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) be set up in Siliguri at the earliest to reduce harassment to passport applicants of north Bengal. He raised the demand while addressing a party meeting at Agrasen Bhawan here.

A Passport Application and Collection Centre (PACC) had been set up in Siliguri back in 2000, but it was shut down on April 1, 2013 citing various reasons.

“We feel it necessary for a full fledged passport office in Siliguri to speed up the process of renewing and issuing of passports,” said the MP. “Sushmaji (Union external affairs minister) is expected to visit Siliguri next January. We will discuss this urgent matter once she is here.” 

Meanwhile, sources at the regional passport office in Kolkata said as many as five new PSKs will be set up in the state including one in Siliguri. 

The Darjeeling MP also slammed the state government for failing to check the rapid spread of encephalitis, especially innorth Bengal. He criticised the Mamata Banerjee government for its hasty decision to suspend medical officers in an attempt bid to hide its own shortcomings.

Talking about the recent appointment of three administrators for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation Ahluwalia said the state government has unlawfully appointed the administrators even as he condemned it for shifting the super-specialty hospital from Raigunj to Kalyani.

 “I have had a talk with the Union health minister to set up an AIIMS-like hospital in North Bengal as the existing North Bengal Medical College and Hospital is not capable of providing the required level of healthcare, added the MP.”