The very thought of the dates, June 15 and July 1 are sending shivers down the spine of many. A mad rush is being witnessed in front of banks. People are making a beeline for offices of gas agencies too.
The reason: The government has linked the supply of rationed goods and LPG to Aadhaar cards and bank accounts. There are problems galore.
The banks, probably, have run out of applications for opening savings bank accounts. People are forced to rely on photocopies of applications sold at exorbitant rates outside or, in some cases, the bankers are compelling the applicants to open insurance-linked accounts.
People who have bank accounts have another sordid tale to narrate. They applied for Aadhaar cards, but one-fourth of them have not received the cards. In addition, 2.2 lakh people in the city are waiting for their turn. There are cases where numbers have been generated, but cards are not yet dispatched. The officials, however, are clueless on this.
To fetch an application at Aadhaar centre or bank has become a Herculean task, says 60-year-old Aleti Durgamma, a resident of Ajitsingh Nagar. She has been visiting the SBH in her locality for the last three days to get an application, but in vain.
It is not an isolated case. Vikramlakshmi, a resident of Vidyadharapuram, rues: “I lost four working days. Unless I go to work, it is very difficult to make both ends meet. I could not obtain an application form as the officials say there are none available.”
CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao says the government has not planned properly before setting deadlines. There are no guidelines. The bankers are not willing to open zero balance accounts. None will find fault if the bank accounts are linked to pension or scholarship.
Linking of civil supplies and gas supply is a deliberate move to shed its responsibilities, he alleges. The government should make necessary arrangements at least now, he says.
