# All 8,000 Karnataka philately passports sold out in hours 2026-10-12T02:02:45+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets All 8,000 copies of the Karnataka Philately Passport sold out within hours across Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Belagavi over 10 and 11 October, the Karnataka Postal Circle said. Bengaluru received 3,500 copies, while the other three cities each got 1,500. Long queues formed from as early as 2 am at Bengaluru’s General Post Office, with some enthusiasts arriving the previous night. The passport, priced at Rs 600, features 100 unique pictorial cancellations and is sold only over the counter on a first-come-first-serve basis, one per person. Deputy Chief Postmaster Doddappa Itagi said that after selling 1,000 copies in July, the allocation was raised to 3,500 for October due to demand. In Mangaluru, all 1,500 copies were exhausted within 90 minutes on the second day. Enthusiasts said they plan to use the passport as a travel diary to explore Karnataka’s heritage sites and collect stamps from designated post offices. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The three outlets provide neutral, near-identical factual coverage of the philately passport sale, uniformly reporting the 8,000-unit allocation across five cities, the quick sell-out within hours, and the long queues. There is no discernible framing difference, as all three focus on the same details, timing, numbers, and collector enthusiasm, without any political or editorial slant. The coverage functions as straight event reporting, confirming that the story is treated as a lifestyle and local-interest item rather than a policy or governance matter. The key open point across all accounts is whether demand will continue to grow, with the Karnataka Postal Circle having raised the Bengaluru allocation from 1,000 in July to 3,500 in October, a number that may guide future editions. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - thehindu.com (neutral report) Straight event report with no slant - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Straight event report with no slant - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight event report with no slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Bengaluru GPO, India Post, Karnataka Postal Circle Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/all-8000-karnataka-philately-passports-sold-out-in-hours/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/all-8000-karnataka-philately-passports-sold-out-in-hours/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/