Odisha: Women spend night outside common service centres to apply for Subhadra Yojana

Phulbani, Sept 12: The unprecedented rush to update Aadhaar cards in order to access benefits from Subhadra Yojana has turned talk of the town in Odisha. Women, in particular, are seen standing in long queues outside post offices, Mo Seva Kendras, and Jana Seva Kendras (common service centers) to correct errors in their Aadhaar cards.

While the application process is underway, network issues are significantly disrupting the procedure. This problem is particularly severe in rural and tribal pockets of the state. In an attempt to get their turns at the earliest, some women were seen sleeping outside various common service centers at night due to connectivity problems from their natives.

In Firingia block of Kandhamal, which comprises 24 panchayats, there are 32 common service centers and 32 Mo Seva centers. However, network issues at several centers have forced women to gather outside the block office. Many are arriving in the evening after their daily routine work and staying overnight outside the centers due to the unavailability of transport facilities. Additionally, many women are facing challenges in Aadhaar card corrections and mobile number linking that takes several hours or a day.

It is worth mentioning that Women & Child Development Minister Pravati Parida has announced that mobile number linking with Aadhaar card is not required to apply for Subhadra scheme as Aadhaar can be validated through biometric system.

It is noteworthy that over 1 crore women in Odisha, aged between 21 and 60 years, will receive annual assistance of ₹10,000 each for the next five years under the Subhadra Yojana, starting from September 17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Odisha on September 17 to officially launch the Yojana.