Taking on doctors and passport slack

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Regional Passport Officer Dr K. Srikar Reddy’s bitter experiences in life have brought out the compassionate side in him. After losing his wife and unborn baby due to medical negligence a few years back, Dr Reddy became a part of an NGO People for Better Treatment, which fights against malpractices in the medical field.
“I vividly remember the day. I was in Delhi when tragedy stuck and I lost Srilatha. This incident led me to fight against the casualness of doctors. I want to ensure that the healthcare system in the state is on international lines. Negligence by doctors should be dealt seriously and if found guilty they should be either suspended or their licenses should be cancelled. Citizens and victims of alleged medical slackness should join hands in order to curb this menace,” said the Indian Foreign Service officer.
On June 24, Dr Reddy was named the best Regional Passport Officer by the Ministry for External Affairs for rendering outstanding service to applicants. In addition to this, the Hyderabad Passport Office has also been named the “Best RPO” in the country for processing 5.93 lakh passports, the highest among all states, for the financial year 2012-13.
“I already had an idea about the issues faced by applicants during the entire process since I worked in the Indian Consulate in Germany. When I took charge in 2011, there were one lakh-plus pending passports. It took me four months to complete the process. It was tough as I had to make my staff work double shifts, reduce the time-frame for application processing and police verification and accept fresh applications as well. It took me months to set things right,” added Dr Reddy who loves watching cricket.