Mumbai: Lack of aadhaar card ruins underprivileged kid's cruise ship dreams

Costa Luminosa had invited the children as part of its charity initiativeEven as they volley over which authority is to blame 30 underprivileged children became roadkill and missed a onceinalifetime opportunity to hop aboard and luxuriate on a cruise ship for one fabulous evening Just two hours prior they were notified that the Central Industrial Security Force CISF responsible for port security had declined to grant them clearance to make the tripCosta Luminosa had invited the children as part of its charity initiativeIncidentally even as they were earlier denied permission by Himanshu Pandey Senior Commandant CISF responsible for the port security and movement of personnel in and out of the port on the grounds that it might be a security issue due to the presence of the French Naval ship on the scheduled day mdash ie April 2 mdash he later relented after being assured that the group would only consist of girls ranging between 916 years of age and accompanied by the NGOs female staff It was after all the applications were filed that it came to light that all members of the contingent did not have valid documents Aadhaar PAN cardHow the trip came to beAccording to the organiser Lotus Destinations Lotus DMC the notable Italian cruise ship Costa Luminosa of Costa Cruises currently on a world cruise and docked at Mumbai port as part of its charity initiative expressed her desire to host some underprivileged children onboard for a visit followed by lunch and some entertainment Accordingly Lotus proposed that 30 children from a wellknown NGO that provides shelter food and education to children of single mothers could be treated to the adventure It was then that they approached Pandey After his initial hesitance he acquiesced and arrangements were made to host the children and necessary permissions were taken from Mumbai Port Trust on March 28 Additionally documents for port entry and onboard visit were handed over to CISF and customsAnd then came the spoke in the wheel KN Surendran Director Lotus DMC said As a standard practice people entering port are given permission by CISF based on the identity card details submitted viz Aadhaar PAN card driving licence etc In this case 17 children had Aadhar cards two others had Aadhar acknowledgement slips but the remaining 11 children were issued photo ID cards by the NGO However due to this even those children with Aadhaar cards were denied entry to the port Usually though entry to the port is given on the basis of the ID documents submitted by the applicant in this case the NGO and not each individual being subject to checking as it is not practical Also even MbPT had given their clearanceWhat authorities sayGautam Dey Nodal Officer Cruise MbPT told midday The children were scheduled to visit the cruise on Sunday for which we had issued the permission but later we came to know there was some issue with the CISF because of which they could not board the cruise shipCISF PRO Manjit Singh added On inquiring into the matter it has been told to me by the staff that the group did not have proper and valid documents and due to lack of documents they could not be allowed inDisappointed 30Surendran however claims This season Mumbai port has seen cruise ships visited by many corporates celebrities and travel agents So we are appalled as to how these children could be any security threat to the port Such highhanded attitude discrimination indifference and arrogance on the part of CISF crushed the dreams of these socially deprived children adding Equally unhappy is the ship which was ready to host the children Discretion which belies logic and reasoning coupled with arrogance of officials can result in such unfortunate and unpleasant situationsA spokesperson from the cruise said We would like to confirm you that despite our best efforts and intentions the subjected ship visit which was scheduled on last April 2 could not be done since the necessary permissions has been refused by port security In order to provide an alternative we immediately made arrangements with the Port for the visit for 03 Apr However due to previusoly planned exams the children had they have not been able to make it We are extremely sorry for the outcome and will be happy to welcome them on board a Costa ship for a next call