Once again, Aadhaar has reunited a family. This time, a divyang woman in Assam was reunited after being missing from her home for several weeks.
The woman, who has speech and hearing impairments, and is unable to communicate, was found wandering homeless in Sonapur New Market, Kamrup district by Assam Police, nearly 165 kilometers from her home in Khanamukh village, Sonitpur district andwas traced using Aadhaar.
The police referred her to Sakhi One Stop Centre, an NGO that offers psychosocial counselling and temporary shelter to women under Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. When communication could not be established through writing and sign language, she was shown pictures and she pointed to an Aadhaar card.
When the Guwahati Regional Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was contacted, it offered its support and advised that the woman may submit her fingerprint biometrics for a possible Aadhaar enrolment.
Upon submission of the same, her existing Aadhaar biometrics could be matched and from her Aadhaar details, her home address could be located and she could be reunited with her family earlier this month.
Aadhaar enrolment helps not only in ease of living and better service delivery, but can also help persons separated from their families to reconnect. Therefore, UIDAI has always been encouraging that children be enrolled at the earliest, and their biometrics be enrolled once they attain the age of five years and updated upon attainment of 15 years of age. Such enrolment and update is free of charge and can be done at all Aadhaar enrolment and update centres across the country.