VISAKHAPATNAM: Aadhaar Seva Kendras witnessed a huge rush on Tuesday as beneficiaries of welfare schemes such as Jagananna Thodu and YSR Cheyutha thronged the centres to link their mobile numbers.Speaking to TNIE, UIDAI central manager Polavarapu Sri Hari said around 750 to 800 people visited the centre in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. The queue extended from the centre, which is located on the fourth floor of a building in Dwarka Nagar, to the basement. “As banks and MeeSeva centres remain non-functional due to the current partial curfew, Aadhaar Seva Kendra is the only place for services,” he said and added that many are rushing to link their mobile numbers as to make application process easier.
In the last three days, the centre received 2,000 requests to link mobile numbers, he said. The UIDAI centre in Visakhapatnam currently employs 40 people and has 16 systems for various services related to Aadhaar.“With the little staff we are doing our best,” Srihari said. One Annapoorna (52), who came from Anakapalli to link her mobile number to apply for YSR Cheyutha said, “I came at 7 am and stood in the line for two and a half hours. Once I went inside, my work was done in five minutes.”Another person P Kishore, who stood in the line for almost three hours expressed his fear and said “I don’t want to be stopped by the police.”