Kolkata puts Aadhaar drive on hold after protests in city

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to put its drive to update Aadhaar details on hold, following protests by people, who feared that the exercise was being conducted to collect data for the National Population Register (NPR).

Locals had hit the road in Watgunge area of the city on Wednesday evening, after two officials of a private bank, engaged to collect details for Aadhaar, visited the area, a source at the civic body said.

The protesters blocked the road, refused to provide details and held the officials captive for three hours, alleging that the process was being carried out for updating NPR – an exercise which the Mamata Banerjee government said, would not be allowed in Bengal.

Also read: Final NRC list: No Aadhaar for those who can’t prove citizenship

Banerjee had also stated that NPR was a “dangerous game’, which could lay the groundwork for NRC.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said all work to update and rectify Aadhaar cards have been put on hold to avoid a breakdown of law and order. “We have asked our officials to immediately stop updating exercise for the Aadhaar card and rectification at all borough offices. There was some panic in Watgunge area. We don’t want any panic as it might lead to a law and order situation,” the senior TMC leader told reporters.

According to the KMC source, the form for Aadhar update was an old one and had an NPR column, which led to panic among the locals in Watgunge.

It was only after the police intervened, the two officials were rescued, he added.