A six-digit Postal Index Number (PIN) is assigned to areas to usually receive mail and couriers. Also called zip code, it’s used by India’s postal service as a seal of authentication for citizens’ addresses. The right PIN is mandatory to issue passports and register Aadhar cards.
PIN code has become a dilemma for residents of Koteshwar. The area, officially linked to the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, continues to have the Ahmedabad pin code, 380005, leading to several complexities while securing passports. Many regions in Sola, Zundal, Naroda and Nava Naroda faced similar challenges in the past.
A leading daily has cited the example of a man whose son received a delayed appointment to get his passport. The report said the authorities at Ahmedabad’s Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) wanted the family to change the address on their Aadhaar cards to Ahmedabad to match the city’s pin code, leaving the family stunned.
A senior PSK official was quoted as saying, “On average, in a day, the PSKs in Ahmedabad get two cases where applications are turned down due to discrepancies in the official records. The applicants are forced to make changes in the application or file a new one in accordance with the documents they have. The post offices need to update the changes in areas and pin codes and then inform the passport authorities. However, this process is not maintained regularly, causing applicants to suffer.”
Regional passport officer Wren Mishra admitted to the daily that several areas had discrepancies in pin codes and confusion about the jurisdiction of police stations. He said, “We have written to the police department, requesting a list of areas along with their pin codes. The system is being upgraded, and the changes will be incorporated later this year to streamline the application process and resolve these issues.”
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