Jeypore: Scores of school kids Wednesday not only remained starved but returned empty handed thanks to poor management of the Aadhaar registration centre here at the block office in Koraput district.
School students, along with their guardians, have been thronging the registration centre as the government issued notice to enroll their names by August 30 or else they would be deprived of the government-sponsored schemes. However, the kids who got little chance to register their names as the residents of Sadar block, who were left out earlier, are also queuing up to enroll their names.
According to reports, Jeypore block has 22 panchayats and most of them are not connected with bus and other modes of public transport. While the students of the schools of these panchayats somehow reach the registration cetnre, hundreds of villagers also mob the block office to get their Aadhaar cards. This is depriving many students of their chance.
For instance, nearly a 100 schoolkids turned up at the registration centre Tuesday of whom only 10 could register their name as the officials at the centre didn’t register more than 60 names a day. Similarly, about 40 students, less than seven years of age, came to register their names Wednesday and waited long hours in empty stomach but had to return home without getting their names registered.
Worst, there was no arrangement in place to receive the complaints of the applicants. Many guardians, who mostly work as daily labourers, said they spend Rs 80 as autorickshaw fare and walk around three km to reach the registration centre at Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra on block office premises giving up a day’s wage, but failed to get their names registered.
When contacted, welfare extension officer Annapurna Devi said clubbing of other people with the school students has posed problems since it is not possible to register more than 60 names day.
It is a daunting task to enroll the students of nearly 25 schools in one centre. The education department should streamline things and send the students in batches to sort out the problem.
Meanwhile, the locals demanded that the registration process begin at school level. PNN
