Under-privileged women with callused fingers pose a peculiar challenge in biometric registration as drive enters second day
Chandrima Pal
Posted On Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 02:09:10 AM
Chandrima Pal
Posted On Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 02:09:10 AM
Aadhaar, the UPA government’s most ambitious and critically flayed programme is knocking on Mumbai’s door. And like the first rollout in the tribal village of Nandurbar last year, it is not without its moments.
Since Monday, scores of enthusiastic men, women and children have been gathering at the under-construction municipality school building in Koperkhairane to enrol for the 12-digit Unique Identity number which promises easy access to development schemes and public distribution system.
But many of them, majority of them women, are going home disappointed. Their hands - which in their blisters and calluses tell their own tale of hardship - are so badly damaged that recording an error-free fingerprint is nearly impossible.
Since Monday, scores of enthusiastic men, women and children have been gathering at the under-construction municipality school building in Koperkhairane to enrol for the 12-digit Unique Identity number which promises easy access to development schemes and public distribution system.
But many of them, majority of them women, are going home disappointed. Their hands - which in their blisters and calluses tell their own tale of hardship - are so badly damaged that recording an error-free fingerprint is nearly impossible.
Scores of enthusiastic men, women and children have been gathering in
Koperkhairane to enrol for the 12-digit Unique Identity number
An official on condition of anonymity tells us how it has been a revelation and learning for the techies. “Women here obviously have to work really hard.
The abrasive detergents have eaten the skin and flesh off their fingers. We have no option but to send them back, telling them to retrun once their skin has healed,” he says, lowering his voice, turning away from the women who are watching him curiously. “This is slowing down the process.”
None of the women who have been turned back on this gound are willing to be photographed. “It is humiliating for them” explains a young man, a courier boy, waiting for his chance to put down his fingerprints. His holds up his hands, his fingers are fine. “I don’t have to wash and scrub you see.”
But neither this, nor the long wait and ‘shortage’ of enrolment forms, seem to dampen the spirits of those who, drawn by the ads in local newspapers and banners and posters, keep crowding the festooned building, dotted with Aadhar posters.
Thane Guardian Minister, Ganesh Naik, launched the drive on Monday by becoming the first person to register his name for Aadhaar.
While the centers between Vashi and Digha will be supervised by WIPRO, those between Vashi to CBD-Belapur will be handled by TERA.
Among the volunteers at these 84 centres are civic teachers from the balwadis and anganwadis and civic officials.
Three glass-walled rooms at the Koperkhairane school have been taken over by a 10-member Wipro team. Six registration bays have been set up with laptops and other gadgets to record the biometric data.
The abrasive detergents have eaten the skin and flesh off their fingers. We have no option but to send them back, telling them to retrun once their skin has healed,” he says, lowering his voice, turning away from the women who are watching him curiously. “This is slowing down the process.”
None of the women who have been turned back on this gound are willing to be photographed. “It is humiliating for them” explains a young man, a courier boy, waiting for his chance to put down his fingerprints. His holds up his hands, his fingers are fine. “I don’t have to wash and scrub you see.”
But neither this, nor the long wait and ‘shortage’ of enrolment forms, seem to dampen the spirits of those who, drawn by the ads in local newspapers and banners and posters, keep crowding the festooned building, dotted with Aadhar posters.
Thane Guardian Minister, Ganesh Naik, launched the drive on Monday by becoming the first person to register his name for Aadhaar.
While the centers between Vashi and Digha will be supervised by WIPRO, those between Vashi to CBD-Belapur will be handled by TERA.
Among the volunteers at these 84 centres are civic teachers from the balwadis and anganwadis and civic officials.
Three glass-walled rooms at the Koperkhairane school have been taken over by a 10-member Wipro team. Six registration bays have been set up with laptops and other gadgets to record the biometric data.
The iris scanners, the finger print readers, are pulling in curious onlookers, who press their faces against the glass to get their fill of the latest road show to have hit this satellite township.
“Crowd management is a challenge,” says Dattatreya, a Wipro representative. “Yesterday we managed to enrol 70 people, including Ganesh Naik. But today we are struggling a bit,” he adds.
Registration for UID on an average takes 15 minutes. Men or women are asked to provide the finger prints, hold the iris scanner to their eyes for a reading and then provide documentary evidence of their address and identity proof. “There is a list of 27 documents they can provide,” explains Dattareya, and that includes everything from a ration card to a PAN card.
“I need a passport,” says Narayan Popat Andhre, here with his wife and neighbours. A driver by profession, he sees the Unique Identity number as a window of opportunities for his family. “I have come with my pan card and ration card, and I am told this number will help me avail of government schemes.
It would mean a lot to us,” he says, looking affectionately at his young son, who bounds around the room, fascinated with the colourful equipment. Andhre wants his son to get an UID number too, but is unsure of what documents to furnish.
“We have enrolled several kids yesterday,” cuts in Dattatreya. “There is a checklist of documents for kids too. It can be done.”
The registration process will continue for 25 days. The Aadhaar numbers, printed on a card, will be made available at the nearest post office in roughly a month’s time.
Outside, in the crowd dominated by women from all age groups, a young Lalita Mhatre has been waiting for two hours for her turn.
Lalita, who works at dispensary, is here with her mother. Isn’t it a chore? Lalita flashes a thousand-watt smile, “There are others who have been here since the morning. If the card can really deliver all that is being promised, we don’t mind the wait.”
“Crowd management is a challenge,” says Dattatreya, a Wipro representative. “Yesterday we managed to enrol 70 people, including Ganesh Naik. But today we are struggling a bit,” he adds.
Registration for UID on an average takes 15 minutes. Men or women are asked to provide the finger prints, hold the iris scanner to their eyes for a reading and then provide documentary evidence of their address and identity proof. “There is a list of 27 documents they can provide,” explains Dattareya, and that includes everything from a ration card to a PAN card.
“I need a passport,” says Narayan Popat Andhre, here with his wife and neighbours. A driver by profession, he sees the Unique Identity number as a window of opportunities for his family. “I have come with my pan card and ration card, and I am told this number will help me avail of government schemes.
It would mean a lot to us,” he says, looking affectionately at his young son, who bounds around the room, fascinated with the colourful equipment. Andhre wants his son to get an UID number too, but is unsure of what documents to furnish.
“We have enrolled several kids yesterday,” cuts in Dattatreya. “There is a checklist of documents for kids too. It can be done.”
The registration process will continue for 25 days. The Aadhaar numbers, printed on a card, will be made available at the nearest post office in roughly a month’s time.
Outside, in the crowd dominated by women from all age groups, a young Lalita Mhatre has been waiting for two hours for her turn.
Lalita, who works at dispensary, is here with her mother. Isn’t it a chore? Lalita flashes a thousand-watt smile, “There are others who have been here since the morning. If the card can really deliver all that is being promised, we don’t mind the wait.”
You are asked to provide finger prints, hold the iris scanner to your eyes for a reading and then provide documentary evidence of your address besides identity proof
