BARGARH:With both Union and State Governments’ deciding to transfer cash subsidy on rice directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), people are queuing up outside the district collectorate to enrol for their Aadhaar cards to avail the subsidy.
Although Supreme Court had maintained that Aadhaar card is not mandatory for getting the subsidy, the confusion persists as the Government has linked Aadhaar number to payment of different subsidies, including pensions, to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries have been keeping various items including polythene bags and other articles in the queue at night and returning next morning to claim their spot in the queue. They have complained that though hundreds of people stand in the queue everyday, only 20-25 persons are managing to get enrolled for the card due to the slow process.
Meanwhile, daily powercut from 8 am to 2 pm in the town for the maintenance work ahead of Dhanu Yatra, is believed to be the reason behind the tardy pace of Aadhaar enrolment.
Kumudini Sahu (62) of Jamurda village under Bargarh block said she had been coming for Aadhaar card for the last two days along with her husband. On Thursday, though she had reached the office at 4 am, the enrolment process couldn’t be completed due to powercut.
However, Additional District Magistrate, Bijay Kumar Rath said, “Considering the long queue of applicants, we are planning to open additional counters to expedite the process.” He hopes the queue will ease off once the second counter begins operation.