Huge rush to avail of Subhadra Yojana

Bhubaneswar: A massive rush of people was witnessed at various centres across Odisha as the process for the submission of applications to get financial assistance under the much-hyped Subhadra Yojana began on Wednesday.

The women applicants gathered at Anganwadi Kendras, block offices and Mo Seva Kendras in huge numbers to either collect the application forms or submit the duly filled forms to avail financial benefits under the scheme while several others were seen waiting outside the centres to update their Aadhaar cards.

Many of the probable beneficiaries found their address wrongly mentioned or their husband’s and father’s names missing from the Aadhaar card while others found their mobile number not linked to the Aadhaar card.

“We have been waiting here since 3 am to get our Aadhaar card updated. However, the process for the correction of the Aadhaar card is very cumbersome. The rush is so huge at the place that many of the applicants are also getting hurt.

Aadhaar card is necessary for Subhadra Yojana and ration cards,” said a lady waiting near an Aadhaar centre in Balasore. Stampede-like situations have also been reported in some States due to the massive rush.

As per Subhadra Yojana guidelines, each applicant should have an Aadhaar card in her own name. The guidelines further direct that the beneficiaries must have linked their mobile number with the Aadhaar card and have a single-holder bank account that is Aadhaar-enabled and DBT-enabled.

The beneficiaries will receive Rs 10,000 in two instalments of Rs 5,000 each on Rakhi Purnima and International Women’s Day (March 8) every year. The eligible beneficiary will get a total Rs 50,000 in five years.

The first instalment under the scheme is likely to be released on September 17, on the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.