The Pattaya City Registration Office faces a halt in the issuance of national ID cards to Thai citizens due to a shortage of blank cards. Bunchaya Charoenphot, the Manager of the Registration and ID Card Operations Office, explained that the deficit of cards from the Provincial Registration Center in Chon Buri province has disrupted their normal processes.
Starting today, the office’s operations related to ID cards will be suspended until further notice, causing uncertainty among citizens. Despite this pause, other services like applications, certifications, and transactions will continue as usual during this period.
Bunchaya expressed concern over the challenging situation, noting how the lack of equipment has severely impacted the office’s ability to meet the public’s demands. Previously able to process up to 200 ID card applications daily, the output has now been reduced by half to only 100 applications per day due to the shortage.
However, there is a ray of hope for those with urgent ID-related issues such as expired, lost, or damaged cards, as well as those requiring name or address changes. The office will address these cases on a temporary basis, as per information from Pattaya Mail.
Citizens in urgent need of assistance are advised to contact the Pattaya City Registration Office during office hours at 038-253133-35 or through the Pattaya Contact Center at 1337.
In a related development, the Thai government has initiated the issuance of smart ID cards to over 100,000 Buddhist monks nationwide, as announced by Puangpet Chunlaiad, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. These smart ID cards contain significant details about each monk’s background and are linked to the national citizenship database managed by the Interior Ministry.
This measure is part of the government’s strategy to enhance the traceability of monks in response to concerns raised by Police Lieutenant General Sanit Mahathaworn, chairman of the Senate Committee on Religious Affairs, regarding the growing issue of misconduct among monks in parliament.
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