Mangaluru: The fourth version of the Karnataka Philately Passport witnessed an overwhelming response from heritage enthusiasts, stamp collectors and travellers, with all 1,500 copies allotted to the Mangaluru Head Post Office (HPO) selling out within hours, over the two-day sale on Saturday and Sunday. Long queues stretched up to Forum Mall near Pandeshwar, with some enthusiasts arriving as early as 5 am to secure a copy.Senior postmaster Lokanatha M said the Mangaluru HPO sold 500 passports on Saturday, exhausting copies within an hour. On Sunday, the post office issued 1,000 tokens from 8 am, and the sale of 1,000 copies was completed by around 9.30 am. Ten counters were arranged to manage the rush and facilitate the sale.“There was a very good response from customers, particularly young people, travellers and bikers, who are keen to collect the passport while visiting different places,” he said, adding that people started queuing for the passport at 5 am in the morning.This version of passport also featured a bookmark.Deepak, a resident of Attavar, said that he tried to get a copy last time in Bengaluru, but only got it this time. He added that there was a huge line. Chetan, a local, said he came at 7.30 am and got the copy only around 9:30am.The passport, priced at Rs 600, is designed as a travel diary encouraging people to explore Karnataka’s heritage sites and collect local stamps and unique permanent pictorial cancellations (PPCs) from designated post offices. The cancellations feature distinctive pictorial designs associated with particular places and add a philatelic element to travel.The passports are available only over the counter, with no online booking or pre-booking facility.Across the state, around 8,000 copies were made available through four locations. Bengaluru received 3,500 copies, while the head post offices in Mangaluru, Mysuru and Belagavi received 1,500 copies each.Bengaluru too witnessed heavy demand. Doddappa Itagi, deputy chief postmaster at the Bengaluru General Post Office (GPO), said 1,500 copies were sold on Saturday and the remaining 2,000 on Sunday. Tokens were issued from 7 am on Sunday, and the sale began at 8 am. All 2,000 copies were sold out before 11 am.
