My Facebook post copied here:
Aadhaar or UIDAI service is the most frustrating procedure in this country, run by the most incompetent officials possible.
#RANT #PleaseShare #SomeoneHelpUs
My roommate is trying to enrol for Aadhaar for about 5 months now. The service is the biggest sham, with no rules, nothing concrete in place, a bunch of careless people and zero tension.
History of Harassment
> We were sent to this centre in Bandra West (address provided by customer care people on dialing 1947). The only person there said that the GOVERNMENT suddenly closed their centre without any information and suggested to us to go to the only permanent centre in the entire area, opened in an Indian Oil Petrol Pump.
> The Centre at Indian Oil Petrol Pump had 3 officials who were having Chai and Parle-G biscuit. They asked us to wait. After 20 minutes (time almost needed for lunch), they call us and tell that we’ll have to take an appointment. Seeing a slight procedure in place, we were happy to take the appointment. Those people then broke the news to us that the next appointment is available almost after 80 days (close to three months) as the dates are full. Mind it, I was there for an hour or more – THEY ALL DID NOTHING. Nobody came and had they wanted, they could have taken 10 minutes and enrolled us. But no.
> We were left with no choice but to wait. My roommate is an Indian origin Dubai resident, here to work in India. He was asked by employer to get a PAN Card made to continue his job. But as per new rules, you can’t make a PAN Card without Aadhaar. And wait, HOW DOES ONE GET AADHAAR MADE? He is also not too fluent in Hindi, and nobody at these centres dare speak English even if they know for customer convenience, because rashtriya bhasha.
> Anyway. We wait for 80 days (he stayed unemployed for all this while), and comes the big day. Jai Ho. The centre was closed to our surprise. People around that area told us to come again tomorrow. HOW DOES A GOVT. CENTRE SHUT? Next day, we again go and the same three people tell us that this CENTRE WAS CLOSED BY THE GOVT. a month ago. Nobody, absolutely nobody thought of sending a message info/ notification to all those who had taken appointments about this. We were asked to call Customer Care again on 1947.
> Customer Care officials told us that they DON’T KNOW THE REASON for closure, it’s a government decision. Anyway they gave us the new centre address 6 kms away. This was the centre made in a small room in HDFC Bank. We went there to a huge rush. A SINGLE PERSON was working there for many people with no help whatsoever. He told us to wait. After some time, we were called in and my roommate was finally enrolled on Aadhaar. Aadhaar Enrollment No. 1**4**********. He told us that Aadhaar number will be sent to the mobile number in 7-10 days (what’s this much time when we have waited for so long?).
> After 15 days, no message was received and no status being displayed on website, I call 1947 again and they tell us that the agency (one person that enrolled us) didn’t forward the documents and hence this Aadhaar stands cancelled. Please enrol again. They gave us the person’s number at AGENCY but after about a 100 calls, nobody picks up.
> The same day, we go there and the agency person is not available. They say he is not there today and asked us to come some other day. We go there after 3 days at 10 AM, and he is still not there. They tell us that he usually comes by 10:30 AM (official time 9 AM, please note). We waited there for about an hour – and no sign of the person.
> We try calling him for about a week, and still no sign. Inquired at the bank a couple more times, and they said he is not there. I again call 1947. THEY TELL ME THAT HDFC BANK CENTRE HAS ALSO CLOSED. That’s three centres closed in about three months.
> On inquiring, she says another centre has opened (such a sweet miracle) and turns out this is the FIRST centre that was closed (in Bandra West) which has now reopened.
We get in touch with people there and they say we can’t do it now, because hello take another appointment. Three months again? We don’t know. This is today.
Read more: Aadhaar V/S No Aadhaar Card: Our Bloggers Fight It Out On The Issue
Biggest Problems
> No clear data on centres. Centres open and close. Why can’t they have proper permanent centres, with educated well salaried people who are quickly doing their job? Data on UIDAI website is rarely updated and if it is, then it happens too late.
> Mobile numbers are provided everywhere, on appointment software, registers, enrollment forms – but no form of communication is done. Nobody cares to inform about such a big turmoil happening in the system.
> People appointed to work at the centres are incompetent, don’t know much, don’t come on time, or are fully absent. They either don’t want to do work, or then don’t forward your documents (our case on point here).
> Mobile numbers of these people provided on UIDAI website are NEVER working. Never. You can never get in touch. Why are these numbers provided? To listen to the operator?
We are privileged, what about others?
> In this 5-month journey, I have met so many people who are struggling with the process.
> What about senior citizens, who can’t move that much and take so much pressure?
> What about the poor, who can’t take transport every third day to reach these far fetched centres?
> What about the uneducated, who don’t have access to your Digital India and website, and can’t check the status of their work?
> What about those who can’t work, can’t have money, or withdraw cash without Aadhaar?
What about all these people? Before making Aadhaar, a ONE-STOP plan to everything, did they think if it is a viable solution and how it could have been implemented better, without all this harassment?
As I said, we are privileged that we could do this 5 month run where my roommate didn’t work but can still survive.
What about everyone else?
Such a sad state of affairs.
Image credits: Google
Read more:
http://edtimes.in/2017/07/aadhaar-card-right-privacy-govt-violating-rights/
