Aadhaar registration centres operating in the district, particularly those inside the Collectorate, have been witnessing large crowds over the past few days with the district administration urging the public to link their Aadhaar card with ration cards within this week.
People coming from different areas of Madurai have complained of inordinate delay and lack of proper communication by the officials, leading to multiple visits to the registration centres. “Now that they have made it mandatory for the children also, we are bringing our kids as well to get Aadhaar card by skipping school. However, the officials here say that they can only accept only a limited number of applications per day,” said N. Kalaiarasi, a resident of Kamarajar Salai.
A retired government official, speaking on anonymity, said that his ration card was blocked since the Aadhaar number of the family head was not linked. “When I approached my ration shop, the employees there said that I could get it rectified only at the taluk office. The work is still not done despite visiting the taluk office thrice. If this is the situation for a former government employee, what about others,” he asked.
S. Abdul Kathar, an auto rickshaw driver from K. Pudur, alleged that essential supplies to his family had been reduced drastically by citing the reason that Aadhaar cards of his wife and children had not been linked to ration card.
“My wife has Aadhaar but the person at the ration shop says he could not link it since the smart machine was not recognising it. Now, losing my daily income, I have been visiting the taluk office for the past three days to get her card linked and to apply for Aadhaar card for my children,” he claimed.
When contacted, a senior official in the District Supply Office, said. “A deadline has been fixed in order to expedite the issuance of smart cards. People need not panic as they will be given more to link their Aadhaar cards.” The official added that the infrastructure and manpower in all e-service centres had been enhanced to avoid delays in enrolment for Aadhaar.
