Naveen Y, TNN, Apr 20, 2011, 11.08pm IST
TUMKUR: The ambitious plan of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), taken up on a pilot basis, has suffered a setback in Tumkur.
The project, which aims to distribute UID numbers to 65 lakh people in Tumkur and Mysore districts in the first phase, ran into rough weather due to several reasons, including power cuts, technical snags and the unfriendly attitude of the staff at the Aadhaar centres.
The project, which aims to distribute UID numbers to 65 lakh people in Tumkur and Mysore districts in the first phase, ran into rough weather due to several reasons, including power cuts, technical snags and the unfriendly attitude of the staff at the Aadhaar centres.
Seven months after work began, only half the population has been registered, and officials are concerned about reaching the target in the next one-and-half months. Though 102 centres have been opened across Tumkur district, the project implementation has not been effective.
Delay and several hurdles in the registration process have dampened the residents' initial enthusiasm for the project. They were made to wait for hours in queues and forced to visit the centres several times. Besides, they were upset over the rude behaviour of the staff.
The language barrier also came in the way, with the translation software registering names erroneously. The form is filled up in English and the details are translated into Kannada by default. However, the software misspelt several names. The employees corrected the mistakes manually, delaying the process by about 15 minutes per person.
Irregular power supply also hampered the process, as most of the centres don't have back-up, such as generators. As a result, the number of people registering has come down.
One of the citizens, Rajanna, expressed serious doubts about the advantages of the UID project. He said it cannot be argued that Aadhaar is necessary to get ration cards and other facilities in order to check irregularities. The process of getting the UID card includes giving impressions of the retina and thumb. But at the centres, those assigned the work are not experts, he added.
The situation is worse in rural areas, where people are busy with agricultural work in the pre-monsoon month of May, and are not be available for registration.
Sanamma said that the card, which was supposed to have been dispatched within two months after registration, has not reached many persons in Tumkur.
Officials evaded the question, stating that they were in the dark and that people should approach the authorities in New Delhi. An employee at one of the centres said that their work was to send the Aadhaar list to the authorities in Delhi, and the cards would be dispatched from there. "We don't know why there is a delay in dispatching the cards," he said.
Delay and several hurdles in the registration process have dampened the residents' initial enthusiasm for the project. They were made to wait for hours in queues and forced to visit the centres several times. Besides, they were upset over the rude behaviour of the staff.
The language barrier also came in the way, with the translation software registering names erroneously. The form is filled up in English and the details are translated into Kannada by default. However, the software misspelt several names. The employees corrected the mistakes manually, delaying the process by about 15 minutes per person.
Irregular power supply also hampered the process, as most of the centres don't have back-up, such as generators. As a result, the number of people registering has come down.
One of the citizens, Rajanna, expressed serious doubts about the advantages of the UID project. He said it cannot be argued that Aadhaar is necessary to get ration cards and other facilities in order to check irregularities. The process of getting the UID card includes giving impressions of the retina and thumb. But at the centres, those assigned the work are not experts, he added.
The situation is worse in rural areas, where people are busy with agricultural work in the pre-monsoon month of May, and are not be available for registration.
Sanamma said that the card, which was supposed to have been dispatched within two months after registration, has not reached many persons in Tumkur.
Officials evaded the question, stating that they were in the dark and that people should approach the authorities in New Delhi. An employee at one of the centres said that their work was to send the Aadhaar list to the authorities in Delhi, and the cards would be dispatched from there. "We don't know why there is a delay in dispatching the cards," he said.
