Hyderabad now has its first Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in the Old City, located at the MGBS Metro Station in Chaderghat. Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar inaugurated this facility, marking an expansion of passport services in Telangana. He noted that Telangana ranks fifth in the country for passport issuance, with the ability to process around 4,500 passports each day.
Present at the event were Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Yadav, Hyderabad District Collector Hari Chandana Dasari, MLC Riaz-ul Hasan Effendi, GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, and Union Ministry Joint Secretary KG Srinivasa. This PSK is the first in India to be located inside a metro station.
Minister Prabhakar mentioned that Telangana has five PSKs, with the main one at Begumpet and others at MGBS, Tolichowki, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar. He suggested increasing the MGBS center’s capacity from 750 to 1,200 slots and the Karimnagar center from 250 to 500 to meet demand.
He emphasized the importance of passports, comparing them to Aadhaar, as more students and professionals travel abroad for education and work. The new MGBS PSK is a relocation from Ameerpet, while the Tolichowki PSK has moved to the Siri building at Raidurgam. Prabhakar highlighted the convenience of the MGBS center’s location, offering easy access via metro and bus. He urged staff to treat applicants well and called for quicker police verifications to speed up passport issuance.
Asaduddin Owaisi praised the new center in the Old City for its strategic location. He recalled the challenges faced when the Begumpet office opened in 1976 and noted Hyderabad’s top rank in passport issuance. He also encouraged the Telangana police to expedite verifications.
Meanwhile, Telangana IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu opened another PSK in Raidurgam. He urged the Union government to set up more PSKs in Hyderabad due to rising demand. Present were MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, MLC P Mahender Reddy, MLA Arikapudi Gandhi, Secunderabad RPO Snehaja, and other dignitaries.
Sridhar Babu highlighted Hyderabad’s rapid growth and the increasing population, stressing the need for better public service infrastructure, especially in passport services.
