All operations of the Chuadanga regional passport office were suspended following the burning of electronic equipment and the deactivation of the server.
Besides, passport services were suspended for the past three days due to a system outage.
According to passport office sources, a transformer located near the office on Hospital Road in Chuadanga city exploded, leading to fluctuating voltage in the electricity supply. Consequently, the automated voltage regulator (AVR) at the passport office caught fire, resulting in the shutdown of the entire server.
Despite efforts made by employees from the Chuadanga Power Department, Immigration Engineers, and Passport Office, the server could not be restarted, prolonging the disruption for three days, they added.
Mr. Abdus Sattar, Deputy Assistant Director of Chuadanga Regional Passport Office, confirmed the matter.
The closure of the passport office has affected the delivery of passport services, inconveniencing citizens and delaying essential travel documentation.
Jiadul Islam, one of the service seekers, expressed his frustration, saying, "I went to the office to update my passport, only to find that there was no one at the service counters below. All the service desks were closed. Later, I discovered that the server was also down, causing delays in processing any requests. Unfortunately, no one could provide a definite timeframe for when the issue would be resolved."
According to Darshana's Asa Matiur Rahman, individuals are traveling from far-off places, hoping to collect their passports, but they are being turned away without receiving any services due to the ongoing disruption. If they had been informed about the situation beforehand, they wouldn't have had to endure this unnecessary hardship.
in this regard, Mr. Sattar said all possible measures are being taken to restore the office's functionality.
Once the AVR machine is successfully activated, the inconvenience faced by the public will be alleviated, he hoped.
BDST: 1113 HRS, AUGUST 01, 2023
MSK/SMS
