Favoritism mars Aadhar photo session
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, February 02 2015: Many people from all over the state who had turned up at GM Hall to get their photographs clicked in the efforts to procure Aadhar cards are being put into unnecessary hardships due to the unfair practices of the officials of the agencies entrusted with the task.

The officials are allegedly favoring their acquaintances and influential persons, bestowing them preferential treatment in getting their photographs taken by moving them up in the list ahead of those who were waiting in the queue.

The enrollment for Aadhar was taken up with the Unique Identification Authority of India as the nodal agency and expenditure of crores of rupees.

Favoritism mars Aadhar photo session at GM Hall

The tasks for taking photographs and compilation of biometric database in the state were entrusted jointly to Manitron and a private firm Enmedia.

In other states of India, the practiced policy is for the officials to visit each households but such procedure is absent in Manipur.

The administration conducts the photograph sessions and data collections at centres they had selected and applicants have to reach there to get their job done.

The process for taking photographs for the districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Chandel is currently underway at GM Hall in Imphal.

Similar activities in the remaining districts are also being taken up at specially designated sections at their respective district magistrate offices.

However, there are increasing numbers of complaints that the officials supervising the photograph session in all the centres are indulging in blatant exercise of favoritism to please their friend circles, overlooking the plights of the people standing in the lines for their turn for hours.

The working hours at GM Hall centre is officially scheduled from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm daily.

However, there is no sign of the officials reporting for duty before 10 am so far.

Reporters who conducted a spot enquiry saw a frustated elderly man from the long queue dragging out a few persons who entered the booth without waiting for their turn.

Other people in the queue further informed that security personnel on duty there also helped their friends jump ahead of the line and got their photograph taken first.

The same pattern of transgression of the first come first serve policy is seen in other districts as well, according to a person who had come all the way from Thoubal.

It was also pointed out that due to the lack of information about their allotted centre the uninformed people had to virtually travel to each and every centre.