Enrolled for Aadhar?

KOCHI: It looks like the state government has failed in doing its homework before initiating  Aadhaar, the unique identification project. Though it commenced a few days ago, it is yet to pick up for want of proper planning. There are lots of hurdles which the authorities concerned have to overcome, lack of awareness being the main one.Many people are ignorant about this unique identification cards and the authorities have not taken a single step with regard to creating awareness. The project which was inaugurated on August 1 by Excise Minister K Babu was initiated by the Central Government which has appointed the registrars and enrolment agencies — the state government and Akshaya Centre respectively. An office was opened at the community hall of the district panchayat for the purpose.Though around 500 people visit the venue every day, the centre has not made any proper arrangement to cater to all of them. “I came here thinking that I would get the form filled quickly. But I had to wait for more than an hour to get it filled,” said Mohan who came to the Akshaya Centre to get his name enrolled.Poor infrastructure is another reason why the project is moving at a snail’s pace. “Shortage of staff and equipment is a problem. We have only five computers and each is supposed to see to the needs of 100 persons a day but we are not able to achieve the target and attend to only about 30 persons. Usually it takes 12 to 15 minutes to register the biometrics. It takes more time for the elderly. People have to clear so many doubts as they are not aware of anything about the card and so it is time-consuming,” said an Akshaya official.