PERAMBALUR: The parents of a 14-year-old girl from Elambalur in the district complain of a years-long struggle to have her Aadhaar updated as they mentioned her difficulties providing fingerprints due to a rare condition which has caused the skin on her palms to peel off.
Mentioning having submitted a petition with the collectorate on Monday, the parents expressed gratitude when within 30 minutes Collector K Karpagam called up a doctor and issued the girl with a Disability ID card. While the girl through this is entitled to allowance of Rs 1,500 per month, the collector also assured action on getting the former's Aadhaar updated.
The girl, Brintha, studying in Class 8 at Elambalur government higher secondary school is the third among five daughters of R Arumugam (45), a daily wager from Elambalur. She has been suffering from a disorder characterised by abnormal thickening of the skin of palms and soles since birth, along with baldness.
In particular, the skin on her palm has peeled off making even the daily tasks a challenge. Her parents said that they have taken her to several hospitals, including JIPMER in Puducherry but to no avail. Brintha's father Arumugam said, "My daughter's skin problem has not been cured yet. I cannot afford to spend any more as I am struggling to raise my daughters. The card issued by the collector will be very useful for my daughter, especially for her education expenses.
But she is still unable to update her Aadhaar, due to which we cannot even open a bank account for her." She also was unable to update her biometric details for ration card. " If my daughter's name is removed from the ration card, the quantity of rice allocated to our card will decrease accordingly--our daily meals depend on this," he added.
An employee from at the Aadhaar centre functioning out of the collectorate said, "While applying for Aadhaar for the first time, she was able to secure it using her iris biometrics as she was just a child then. But in order to update it now, she needs to provide her fingerprints. Only those who do not have both hands are exempted. Her problem is unique."
When enquired, Collector Karpagam told TNIE, " I have issued the child a Disability ID card which will help her get financial assistance. Eventually, we will help in finding a cure to her skin disease. Meanwhile, her Aadhaar will be updated using iris biometrics."