TNN | Mar 7, 2013, 01.38 AM IST
SHAMSHABAD (RR DISTRICT): The scramble for procuring Aadhaar cards triggered a stampede at an enrolmentcentre here on Wednesday, leading to three women sustaining minor injuries.
Sources said nearly 800 people had gathered at the enrolment centre in Shamshabad by
11 30 am on Wednesday and within minutes, a stampede ensued. Three women belonging to the family of K Venkatamma received minor injuries. Police rushed to the spot and it took them three hours to resolve the situation.
"There is a panic because although the authorities have been giving us dates for getting the biometric scanning done, the only gas agency in the mandal has been telling us that we cannot avail of the LPG subsidy after March 15 if we do not have the Aadhaar card," Burra Ramulu, Deepam scheme beneficiary, said.
Despite being the biggest mandal in Rangareddy district with a population of more than 35,000 persons under 24 gram panchayats, Shamshabad has only one enrolment centre for any government scheme.
Residents in Rangareddy and Hyderabad districts have been going through this ordeal since January when the Centre made the possession of Aadhaar card mandatory for availing subsidy in the purchase of LPG cylinders from oil companies. Till date, not even half of the LPG consumers in these two districts have been able to link their gas connection to the Aadhaar card as they are yet to receive the card being issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.