DHARAMSHALA: The Department of Security, Central Tibetan Administration yesterday announced a simplified process for obtaining passes for the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.
“The security department has already started issuing year-long teaching passes to the devotees since 2014. However, to further reduce the bureaucratic process of registration, we have simplified the process for the convenience of the devotees,” Jigme Gyatso, a senior official at the security department told Tibetnet yesterday.
“ We are going to introduce digitised teaching passes to the devotees soon. For that reason, we will start recording the names of devotees, beginning with the monasteries, Tibetan organisations and finally the general public in Dharamshala from 19 January 2015. Once the registration is complete, devotees don’t need to come with their photographs and IDs to make passes for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings,” he said.
“Those who have already registered/attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings here need not bring their photos again. They can bring a copy of their old teaching pass or the serial number of their teaching pass. However, the passes are only for the teachings that are held in Dharamshala,” he clarified.
Documents required for the digitised teaching passes:
For Tibetans:
• Indian Registration Certificate (RC) issued at Dharamshala.
• If the RC is issued at a place other than Dharamshala, the RC needs to have the arrival date signed by the local security office in Mcleod Ganj. It also need to be renewed twice in Dharamshala.
• If the devotee doesn’t have all these documents, it need to have a supporting letter from the Settlement Officer of Mcleod Ganj.
For Indians:
Identity card with permanent address in Dharamshala
For Foreigners:
Five year Residential Permit (RP) approved by the Kangra district administration.
Registration Venue: Branch Security office, Mcleod Ganj
Timing: Morning – 09:00 am to 01:00 pm Evening – 02:00 pm to 05:00 pm
The registration will start from 19 January 2015 for the next two months.
Registration Fee: 20 Rupees