Lakhs in distress over frozen biometrics after NRC update

GUWAHATI: A Twitter post on Thursday showed 35-year-old Riyajul Hussain threatening to end his life as he is not able to get an Aadhaar enrolment after his biometrics were frozen during the updating process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“During the NRC hearing in 2019, I gave my biometrics. For availing several government schemes we need an Aadhaar number. However, despite repeated attempts, I am not getting my Aadhaar number as my details have been locked. It is a mental torture and I have no option but to end my life,” Riyajul told TOI.
A student of Guwahati, Aryan Agarwal, said he and his family are facing problems in making passports as they do not have Adhaar numbers. “For the NRC biometrics lock issue, we are not able to get our Adhaar cards. As a result, we are being denied most government facilities. We are not able to take admission in foreign universities,” Agarwal said.
Partha Debnath, 42, said his provident fund (PF) account is going to be blocked due to the absence of an Aadhar card. “I am working in a private company and I am on the verge of losing it. I could not file my IT returns and am facing immense hardships due to the Aadhar issue,” Debnath said.
Sumit Kumar Dey, 24, said he is unable to create a bank account as an Aadhar card is mandatory. “I cannot even apply for a job. I have also been denied jobs. My existing bank accounts have been put on hold,” Dey said.
For 19-year-old Taniya Joshi, getting an education loan has not been possible because she does not possess an Aadhar card. Bongaigaon's Bikash Nath has not still been able to download his CTET certificate from the Digilocker App.
The Aadhaar enrolment of more than 27 lakh people has been cloaked in uncertainty because of the delay in completing the process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The biometrics of 27,43,396 people were collected during the claims and objections phase of the NRC exercise prior to the publishing of the complete draft on August 31, 2019. They included 19,06,657 people left out of the complete draft. The biometrics of these people were frozen after the publication of the NRC in August 2019. Assam’s minister for general administration, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, replying to a question of AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain, said the onus was on the Centre to decide whether or not these 27.43 lakh people would get their Aadhaar cards.