Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has announced
that only 1,000 passports will be issued per day until October.
Speaking at a press conference in Colombo today (09), he said that the issuing of e-passports will begin from October.
Explaining the situation, Alles said, “Repeated we had re-ordered from the same supplier for 23 years. This time again a re-order came. I refused and said to call for tenders.”
He noted that the new company that won the tender faced a two-month delay due to legal procedures, which caused the current restriction on passport issuance. “We are issuing 900 (passports) per day, but we have left room for up to 1,000 due to those that arrive in the last moment,” Alles added.
Minister Alles urged the public to apply for passports only if essential during this period, while assuring that the applicants “will get a new e-Passport in October.”
Responding to a question regarding the ‘Yukthiya’ island-wide police operation, the minister admitted, “The ‘Yukthiya’ island-wide operation has been crippled. We have to admit that it has been crippled.”
He said it was the Inspector General of Police (IGP) who directly coordinated the coordinated the anti-drug operation through daily “zoom meetings” and extensive involvement.