The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Manpower crisis and rumor about imposing compulsion of passing secondary school certificate for issuing passport after first week of January 2008, instigated unusual rush of passport seekers waiting in a half kilometer and 16 hours long queue before opening the office and bank counter.

After visiting the Barisal regional passport office at Band Road and Sonali Bank Barisal corporate branch at Bogura Road areas of the city on Saturday night and Sunday morning it was found that hundreds of peoples waiting there in half kilometer long queues for more than sixteen hours for depositing passport forms and fees.

Official and witnesses sources said that rush of passport seekers became abnormal since last November after the aforesaid rumor spread and increscent of the crowd caused more than half kilometers long queues and waiting for hours on December 30, the day and previous night of last banking day of the year 2007.

It may be mentioned that four out of six our districts of Barisal division including Barisal, Bhola, Jhalakati and Pirojpur remained under jurisdiction of Barisal regional passport office after opening passport issuing counter at Patuakhali deputy commissioner office for applicants of Patuakhali and Barguna districts on last October.

Alam of Lalmohan under Bhola, Rafikul Islam of Bakerganj, Jewel Molla of Uzirpur, Wahidul of Mehendiganj under Barisal, Yusuf Ali on Nalchhity under Jhalakati, Srikanta of Swarupkati under Pirojpur districts from the queues in front of Barisal Sonali Bank corporate branch at about 11 PM Saturday night said that they were waiting since Saturday noon for depositing passport fees after opening the branch on Sunday morning, the last banking day of 2007.

After depositing money we will rush for the queue in front of passport office, about two kilometers far from the bank counter for depositing forms, they said.

This bank-queue reached up to nothern bank of Bibir Pukur pond, half kilometer far from the bank counter on Sunday morning.

On other hand Shamsuddin Gazi of Charfession under Bhola district waiting in queue in front of passport office on Sunday morning said that while he was standing in queue here, police disbursed them by baton charge at 2 AM early Sunday night. At morning when we stand in the queue saw that police in duty of that office were collecting Tk.200 per applicant for giving front line serial, he told. The queue in front of passport office for submitting applications reached up to BIWTA marine workshop on Sunday morning.