Ministry of External Affairs held 'passport melas' on Saturday in seven cities to address the growing demand. The two-day melas are held in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Additional SecretaryBasant K Gupta said hundreds of people turned up at passport offices to apply for their document. He said the response in New Delhi has been tremendous. Till 11.30 AM, over 2,500 people had turned up at the Passport Seva Kendra in Bhikaji Kama Place. He said they expect the number to increase tomorrow.

Online appointments are not required for the 'Passport Mela' and applications will be on walk-in basis only in person and not through any third party. The Ministry promised to rectify problems relating to issue of passports in the next few weeks.