Passport home delivery brings relief to Parbat locals

By Sajan Pariyar,Parbat (Phalewas), May 6: For Amisha Pariyar, 22, of Khanigaun of Phalewas Municipality-5, preparing to study in Japan, obtaining and collecting a passport from the District Administration Office in Parbat was far from convenient.

Currently residing with her family in Butwal, Pariyar had submitted her passport application as part of her plans to go abroad for further studies. However, she faced considerable difficulty when she had to travel again to the district headquarters to collect the completed document, incurring additional time, expense and hassle.

“It was very difficult to come and collect the passport after it was ready, especially travelling from such a distance,” she said. “Now, with arrangements in place to receive passports, citizenship copies, driving licences and other government documents at home through the postal service, it will be much easier for people like me who live far away, especially students.”

Pariyar’s experience reflects that of many others. Citizens living outside their home districts for study, employment or other reasons have long been required to appear in person at District Administration Offices to apply for passports, citizenship copies and driving licences, and then come again to collect them. This has resulted not only in additional financial burden but also in a significant loss of time.

To address this issue, the government of Nepal has launched a home delivery service for official documents via the postal service under its 100-point governance reform action plan. As part of this initiative, the District Administration Office in Parbat has begun delivering passports, citizenship copies and driving licences directly to citizens’ homes.

Under the new system, service recipients no longer need to be physically present to collect their documents. Once processed, passports, citizenship copies and licences can be delivered to their doorstep through postal services. The move is expected to particularly benefit those living far from district headquarters, students, individuals preparing for foreign employment, and busy citizens.

According to Chief District Officer Laxmi Prasad Paudel, the new arrangement will also help manage crowds at the administration office. It is expected to reduce queues, congestion and disorder at the office. Applicants for passports can now choose between home delivery by post and in-person collection. They are required to state their preference at the time of application clearly.

The initiative has also been welcomed at the local level. Sanjay Kshetri of Ward-8, Naglibang, Jaljala Rural Municipality, said the need to travel to the district headquarters for minor tasks would gradually be eliminated. “This is a very useful service for people like us who live away from home,” he said. “It saves both time and money.”

With the introduction of home delivery of official documents through postal services, the reform is being seen as a significant step towards improving public service delivery.