Bengaluru: We have seen the kind of suffering some families have faced for want of an Aadhaar card. Some have starved to death and some have been denied basic human necessities.
With the Aadhaar card being made mandatory for even the basic necessities, one would imagine that everyone would be rushing to get one done. But what of those who are physically incapable of getting one done, for the sole reason that they lack the physical requirements that are necessary for making an Aadhaar ID?
To make an Aadhaar ID, you are required to provide a thumb print and an iris scan. But what about those that have neither of these?
Such is the case of Sajida Begum, a 65-year-old leprosy patient, who has been committed to the Leprosy Hospital on Magadi Road. The last time she saw her family was 10 years ago, when they left her at the hospital. They haven’t been to visit her since.
The only thing she has to her name is the Rs 1,000 monthly pension that she receives. This too was taken away from her three months ago, for want of an Aadhaar card.
Leprosy, also known as the Hansen’s disease, is known to affect – among other parts of the body – the granulomas of the nerves, skin and eyes of the infected person, and can lead to a loss of parts of the extremities.
Sajida lost her fingers, toes and sight as a result of the disease, so making an Aadhaar card was out of the question. In August of this year, she received a letter from the deputy tahsildar’s office in Rajajinagar saying that her pension would cease within a week if she failed to link her Aadhar card.
A medical officer at the hospital said that Sajida paid for her few needs with the money she received as her pension. He even wrote to the UIDAI officials regarding Sajida’s condition and requested them to exempt her from the biometric verification.
In the hospital that Sajida currently resides, there are ten who, like her, have no Aadhar card. One of them even received a similar letter from the tahsildar’s office.
There are others in the hospital who are unable to get enrolled as they lack the necessary extremities to get a verification done.
It is clear that the condition of people like Sajida and the others, has not been taken into consideration in the planning of the Aadhaar card requirements.
