Across Uttarakhand, a routine task has turned into a daily struggle. People seeking Aadhaar updates are facing long queues, repeated visits, and mounting frustration as limited centres and technical problems overwhelm the system.
From cities to hill districts, residents are skipping work and school to correct basic details, often returning empty-handed. The situation worsened after Aadhaar updation was suspended at several common service centres due to data irregularities. With many centres shut or operating irregularly, post offices have become the main option for biometric updates and mandatory corrections that cannot be done online.
In Dehradun, queues start forming before counters open at 8 am. Heavy footfall and frequent technical glitches push waiting times into hours.
“I came around 11am and till 3pm my work was not done. We recently changed houses and my wife’s card also needs to be updated. Post offices don’t open on weekends, so we have to miss work,” said Rajan Negi at the General Post Office near Clock Tower.
The city has around 110 post offices, with nearly 85% handling Aadhaar work. Large centres manage over 100 customers daily, but options have narrowed further as one of the two UIDAI centres has shut and the other is being relocated. Local representatives are demanding more neighbourhood-level centres to reduce pressure.
The problem is more severe in hill districts like Bageshwar and Almora. Residents from Kapkot, Garur, Kanda, Dwarahat and Chaukhutia report irregular operations, staff shortages and frequent closures. Sagar, a student from Kanda, said he missed school for several days and succeeded only after 5 visits. “I finally got the correction done at the Bageshwar head post office after spending an entire day there, but even after 6 months, the updated Aadhaar has not been issued,” he said.
Errors have serious consequences. Kamla Devi said a minor mistake stopped her pension and ration. “There is only one centre, and that too is unreliable,” she said. Uma Devi added, “Aadhaar is mandatory for almost every service, but the system to get corrections done is simply not working.”
Postal staff say demand far exceeds capacity. In Rudrapur, nearly 100 people arrive daily, but only 35 to 40 applications are processed. Staff shortages have also affected mail delivery.
Some districts show improvement. Roorkee now runs 4 counters and processes around 150 updates daily. Haridwar, Nainital and Ramnagar report smoother operations after expanding capacity.
Officials say technical issues are being resolved and the situation should stabilise soon, though staff remain stretched as Aadhaar work adds to existing banking and postal duties.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
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