MAPUSA
"Updating Aadhaar was never this easy" runs a Government of India ad campaign but in reality updating and enrolling for Aadhaar has become more than just annoying for those who queue up at the Mapusa centre in Bardez.
Citizens are facing difficulty for updating and enrolling for new Aadhaar card registration at the North Goa District Hospital centre in Mapusa.
Residents who desire to update details or even enroll for a new Aadhaar card have to take prior appointment at the enrolment centre.
Taking appointment is not a problem, but the disappointment sets in when the personnel at the centre hands over an appointment slip for November, good two months away. "I already have an Aadhaar card and needed to correct an error in my name. But they have given me an appointment slip for November," said Dephane Menezes, a resident of Assonora at the Mapusa centre. "Is there any way we could get an early appointment," she almost begged with the person manning the counter.
Like Menezes, there were several others who went to enroll for the card but had to return disappointed with the appointment slip. There were many others who confronted the in-charge asking several queries on Aadhaar card.
Government has made it mandatory to link Aadhaar number to Pan card. Aadhaar card has also been made mandatory for all individuals filing online tax returns. Cellphone operators are also demanding Aadhaar card numbers to be linked to phone numbers. And as recently as Friday, the union government said Aadhaar will soon be linked to one's driver's licence.
With Aadhaar card gaining so much currency, the rush to the centre is obvious.
But the two-month waiting period is not the only inconvenience people who queue up in the corridor of the district hospital face. There is no provision for senior citizens to sit even as they have to stand in the queue sometimes for hours for their turn. There are no fans to beat the heat in the corridor. Sahil, who was managing the Mapusa centre, said: "The centre opens at 10 am and winds up by 5 pm. We feel sorry for the people who have to return back but we are doing our best."
He said the centre provides service to around 84 people a day. "It takes 15-20 minutes to scan each applicant. For an elderly person, it may take over 30 minutes. So we are helpless," Sahil said.
Initially, the Aadhar enrolment job was entrusted to private centres by the Central government. But after receiving several complaints of overcharging at these centres, the UIDAI department of the Central government passed the responsibility for preparing Aadhaar cards to state governments.
In Goa, Goa Electronics Ltd (GEL) is given the charge to collect data for the Aadhaar cards which has around 7-8 enrolment centres. The centre at the North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa is the only centre in Bardez taluka, informed Revati Mazumdar, CEO of Goa Electronics Ltd.
"We are aware there is a rush but majority of them come only to update their data. Appointments are given for any service we provide," Mazumdar said.
