They are elderly but young as per their Aadhaar documents. As a result, they are unable to access the social security pensions and other benefits being sanctioned by the government for the senior citizens.
“I am 71-year-old and my son Yesubabu is 45. In the Aadhaar cards, our ages got swapped and as a result both of us are unable to avail benefits from the government,” complains Devara Rajabbai, a shepherd from Chendurthi village of Gollaprolu mandal.
He is one among the 20 senior citizens and the disabled from the village, who have been running from pillar to post for the last six years to get the Aadhaar data corrected. “We are all unlettered and don’t have the birth records. When the Aadhaar was announced, we were unaware of its importance and not even cross-checked the data enrolled on our behalf,” observes Kandelli Nagaraju, another senior citizen.
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They started feeling the heat only when the unique identity number became mandatory to access the welfare schemes of the government. The cumbersome procedure involved in undertaking corrections to the Aadhaar data is the major bottleneck ahead of them to get the benefits.
“Going by the almanac, I have crossed 70 years of age. But, as per my Aadhaar I am just 59 and not eligible to get the pension. Though I am eligible to get the benefit on all other fronts, the Aadhaar is deterring my pension now,” says Pattapagalu Surya Rao.