Heavy rush at Mee Seva centres for Aadhaar cards

• Govt makes Aadhaar linkage mandatory for various schemes
• Bogus centres crop up at Jagtial, Korutla, Ramagundam

Karimnagar: There is heavy rush at Aadhaar centres in the district as the Telangana State government has made Aadhaar linkage mandatory for several welfare schemes and even for voter identity card. Aadhaar card is required if one needs to secure pension or ration rice from a fair price shop.

Those, who fail to get enrolled under Aadhaar earlier are now queuing up in front of enrolment centres to apply for cards. The State government has set October 20 as deadline for filing applications for Aadhaar. People carrying children are seen waiting in queues at Mee Seva centres both in urban and rural areas to file their applications for Aadhaar. Several bogus Aadhaar centres have allegedly also sprung up in the district to exploit people.

While at some Mee Seva centres, service is being extended to people free of cost, people are reportedly fleeced and made to pay between Rs 500 and Rs 700 for each Aadhaar card at other centres. In rural areas, Rs 200 is being collected for each card. Bogus centres have cropped up in urban places like Jagtial, Korutla and Ramagundam. The officials are finding it difficult to take action against the organisers of these bogus centres as they reportedly have backing of some local political leaders.

With unprecedented rush at Aadhaar centres, some Mee Seva centres in rural areas have not been able to meet the demand due to shortage of staff. People are resorting to agitation at the Aadhaar centres as they are forced to return without being enrolled.

The local people also are finding fault with the government for not providing proper clarity on Aadhaar cards. The pensioners who are already securing pension wonder if they need to file applications for Aadhaar cards.