After Vashi, now Colaba in Raigarh!

More mistakes crop up in UID forms; SoBo applicants claim they have been asked to go through the registration process all over again u00a0 After reading MiD DAY's article ('10,000 unique IDs may reach wrong addresses', September 30) about unique ID acknowledgement copies of Vashi residents categorising them erroneously as inhabitants of Raigarh district, worried Colaba residents, whose forms had similar errors, approached their enrolment centre to request for corrections.The apathetic data operators allegedly asked them to undertake the tedious enrolling process all over again.Residents are infuriated with the operators, asking why they have not bothered to ask the technical wing in Bangalore to rectify what they insist is a 'software error', and are instead planning to make them stand under the sun in long queues and make them undergo the time-consuming process all over again. There is a region called Kolaba in Raigarh, which could also be why the UID software is recognising residents of Colaba in South Mumbai as inhabitants of Raigarh district, officials saidKolaba in RaigarhThe 'technical snag' may have something to do with the fact that there is a region called Kolaba in Raigarh district, causing the software to erroneously recognise residents of the South Mumbai locality as inhabitants of Raigarh, officials said.The guidelines set by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), moreover, do not permit re-enrolment. Sanjana Meher had enrolled for her UID number on July 27. Upon checking her form online a few days back, she was shocked to discover that the software had erroneously categorised her as a resident of the Raigarh district. Concerned that the form would reach the district far away from her home, Meher rushed to the centre.Technical snag?Unfazed and unapologetic, the operators attributed the errors to an unexplained 'technical snag' in the centralised software, and asked her to simply ignore the errors in the addresses, insisting that her UID number would reach the right address.When she returned to the centre, the operator asked her to return to the office three months from the date of enrolment, telling her the entire process would have to be redone.Meher said, I cannot believe that we will have to go through the tiresome technical processes, such as biometric iris identification and fingerprint registration, all over again. The UIDAI should take some action to prevent this.Beroze Barjorji, another resident of Colaba, said, The enrolment process will be excruciating for us, as we are senior citizens. The last time, we had to stand in a long queue and go through an exhausting process. We are not ready to go through this all over again. The UIDAI should look into the matter and fix it. The UID form of Beroze Barjorji, a resident of Colaba, which categorises her as a resident of Kolaba in Raigarh district; Sanjana Meher is also shown to be residing in Kolaba in her form UTI Technology Services, the firm appointed to supply operators for the centre, admitted that the software had run into problems.Milind Bagul, manager of UTI Technology Services Limited said, We have heard reports about the planned re-enrolment for UID numbers in Colaba. We are looking into the matter and will iron out the problems as soon as possible.Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, deputy director general of UIDAI said, The UIDAI has not directed any agency to start re-enrolment. We will take action if the UID centre is found guilty of the allegations levelled against it by the residents of Colaba.Over 100 errorsMore than 100 erroneous acknowledgement copies have been issued. This might have happened because the enrolment agency did not send the correct pincode to officers manning the central server in Bangalore. And now they are asking residents tore-enrol, instead of using asking the technical wing of UIDAI to use some kind of software patch, said a UIDAI official on condition of anonymity.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0