Dibrugarh: A Post Office Passport Seva Kendra was inaugurated by MP Rameshwar Teli at Graham Bazar post office here on Wednesday.

The seva kendra, set up at the Graham Bazar post office complex near Dibrugarh circuit house, is the third-of-its-kind in the state after Silchar and Mangaldoi that has been set up under the initiative of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the department of posts.

Postmaster general and passport officer of the Passport Seva Kendra Akashdeep Chakraborty said the seva kendra has the capacity to cater to 50 passport seekers daily on an average. New passports will be issued, while old ones renewed at the seva kendra. Earlier, the people of the district had to visit the regional passport office in Guwahati for their passport-related work.

"It is a historic day for the people of Dibrugarh. The passport seva kendra will provide a single-stop solution to all passport-related issues. Initially, tatkal and diplomatic passports will not be issued here. The people here will not have to go to Guwahati anymore for their passport-related services. The processing will be done here while the applications will be sent to Guwahati for approval of the regional passport officer. Police verification will be done later. An applicant will get his or her passport in less than three weeks," Chakraborty said.

Teli said he had recently called upon external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to set up a visa centre in Guwahati.

Sushma recently said no Indian has to travel more than 50km to get their passports done.

Regional passport officer Lobsang Tsering, Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan, Lahowal MLA Rituparna Baruah, Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council chief executive member Dipuranjan Makrary and Dibrugarh Municipal Board chairperson Soma Chakraborty were present at the programme.