Poonch village struggles as rare disorder, disability come in way of Aadhaar cards

AS AADHAAR gets linked to a growing number of government schemes, the largest village of J&K’S border district Poonch is facing a problem. A rare genetic disorder has left 84 people in Arai with disfigured hands, and hence unable to register for Aadhaar cards, which need fingerprints. A team set up by the state government has failed to offer a solution, while their appeals to the Centre for help over Aadhaar cards have so far seen no response.

Says Poonch Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Harun Malik, “The government is yet to devise a system for people who do not have hands, or are blind or whose hands are disfigured. With every government service delivery system linked to Aadhaar, these people may not be able to even get a bank account opened to get their disability pension if the issue is not resolved.”

District Social Welfare Officer Nayeem-ul-nisa Bhati says the monthly disability pension hasn’t been paid to those in Arai since April last year, when the amount was revised to Rs 1,000 from Rs 400. While irregular funds is one reason, for many in Arai, the nearest bank branch or post-office from where the pensions can be drawn mean a 3-8 km trek through the hills.

The department is moving towards transfer of money directly into accounts of beneficiaries, but nearly a dozen Arai disabled still receive funds through money orders as they do not have an account, and are now having trouble opening one.

Even existing account holders are worried as they have been told to submit their Aadhaar numbers to link them to the accounts.

The plight of Arai, which has a population of nearly 6,000, was brought to the notice of Governor N N Vohra by Nirmal Gupta, chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board, after a visit to Arai. Following the Governor’s intervention, the Health Department took up the matter, and has since described the illness in Arai as “a chronic genetic disorder apparently caused by consanguineous (intra-family) marriages”. It is setting up teams to spread awareness in the village on the ill-effects of marrying within the

Arun Sharma Abdul Baqi, 75, with his nephews Mohammad Aslam and Dawood at their house in Arai.