Christin Mathew Philip
On Friday, V Perumal finally got to a centre and was greeted by a queue that went on and on. “I can’t walk properly, but I came as I don’t want to lose government subsidies,” said the 65-year-old polio victim of Jyothiammal Nagar in Saidapet. He dodged muddy pools and climbed a flight of stairs to get to the centre.
Many like him across the city complain of similar problems. Most of the centres, says Tamil Nadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust secretary T K M Deepak, are not disabled-friendly. “There are no sign language interpreters and the applications are not in Braille,” he says.
Tamil Nadu Senior Citizens Association secretary D Rajasekaran agrees. There is little information on the websites of the NPR or the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), he says. “Senior citizens account for nearly 10% of the city’s population but have been completely ignored in this drive.”
Several other states have better schemes to help the elderly and the disabled, say residents. In Mumbai, mobile vans are provided to cover old age and homes for the disabled, while Bangalore has exclusive centres for such people.
A senior census department official said: “We have only one mobile van which is mainly for VIPs. Recently, we went to a minister’s house to complete the process.”
The Aadhaar project covers every resident above the age of five. Demographic details and biometric parameters — fingerprints and iris images — are collected and an Aadhaar number issued.
This number is then linked to bank accounts to provide benefits under various schemes, including LPG subsidy.
In Chennai, data is being collected in Royapuram, Tondiarpet, Kodambakkam, Teynampet, Anna Nagar, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Ambattur and Adyar zones. For further queries, residents may contact: 044 - 24912993 or fax: 24911992.
