NALGONDA: Thousands of persons with mentally disabilities across the state remain separated from their families due to alleged official negligence. Found wandering on the streets, these vulnerable individuals are often shifted to nearby shelters by the police.
Currently, the Amma Nanna Orphanage in Choutuppal of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district houses about 600 such persons, while the Serve Orphan Home in Maal in Nalgonda district provides shelter to 20 persons.
Across several government homes and private orphanages in Telangana, thousands of mentally disabled persons have been languishing for years. While many cannot recall their past or their home addresses, a powerful tool to reunite them with their loved ones — Aadhaar — remains underutilised due to administrative apathy.
Aadhaar cards are issued based on iris scans and fingerprints, linking almost every citizen to the national database. By simply scanning their fingerprints or iris and matching them with the existing data through a de-duplication process, thousands could potentially be reunited with their families.
S Nagasena Reddy, founder chairman of Charumathi Child Care Centre in Nalgonda, believes that the majority of those reaching shelters likely already have Aadhaar cards. He suggested that if their fingerprints or iris scans are taken upon admission and matched with existing Aadhaar data, thousands could be reunited with their families.
He cited an example in which children under 10 years of age who had gone missing from different parts of the country and were later found in a school belonging to a particular community in Kerala were reunited with their parents using iris and fingerprint technology.
N Srinivas, who runs a voluntary organisation in Nalgonda, said efforts to trace the original addresses of such persons using the UIDAI database are not happening at the ground level. He pointed out that the process has stalled due to a lack of coordination between the police, revenue and welfare departments. According to him, the police usually shift mentally disabled persons found on the streets to nearby shelters without attempting to trace their addresses using the Aadhaar database.
A retired police officer from Nalgonda district, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a Fingerprint Network System already exists for the police to identify criminals nationwide. He added that this system could also be used to check whether any individuals in orphanages have a criminal background, which might help solve many pending cases.
Several experts suggest that biometric screening and “de-duplication” against existing Aadhaar data should be conducted for all mentally disabled persons living in orphanages. V Madhavi, a resident of Suryapet, said that checking biometrics at the police station immediately after an unidentified mentally disabled person is found would allow instant identification of their hometown, offering a solution to many missing-person cases across the country.
She shared her personal experience of tracing her uncle at the Choutuppal orphanage through social media last year and taking him home for treatment. She said that if the police or revenue department had identified his address through biometrics when he was first found, her uncle could have returned home a year earlier. Consequently, many are calling for the establishment of a special department in every district to identify missing persons using Aadhaar data.
They argue that a single biometric match could bring immense joy to parents and family members who have been waiting for years, emphasising that this is not just a technical process but a social responsibility.
Sri Shankara Guruji, organiser of the Amma Nanna Orphanage, told TNIE that they have been submitting representations to higher officials for the past six years seeking Aadhaar identification for the mentally disabled persons in their care, but have received no response so far.
The shelter in Choutuppal began with a single person in 2010 and now houses about 200 women and 400 mentally disabled men. He said the orphanage runs with the support of donors. Whenever the police bring people found wandering on the roads, the staff provide them with clean shaves and fresh clothes and take them to the mental hospital in Erragadda for treatment. Once they recover and are able to provide their address, they are sent home after obtaining a letter from their family members.
The orphanage also shares photos and videos of its residents through social media and its YouTube channel, “Punarjanma.” Through these efforts, it has reunited around 2,000 people with their families so far.