11 residents of Thane village get UID

On Monday, an obscure village, 60 km away from Mumbai, was bustling with activity after finally getting a unique identity.

On Monday, an obscure village, 60 km away from Mumbai, was bustling with activity after finally getting a unique identity.

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Kon village was among the first few areas in Thane district to start with the unique identification document (UID) project, also known as Adhaar. And its sarpanch Damini Patil was the first woman among others to get the document.

“As a woman, I feel this will empower us,” Patil said.

Another person who was ecstatic on getting the document was physically-challenged Maruti Sable. “This will be of great help for everyone. It will make it much easier for us to get a passport or open a bank account,” Sable said.

The project was started by Union Bank of India, one of the registrars of the UID, in Kon with the help of the enrolment agency Vakrangee Software. The project was inaugurated by Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, deputy director general of Unique Identification Authority of India.

“We have involved the public sectors in the enrolment procedure. Your identity and residential proof will be one – Adhaar – which can be used anywhere in the country,” Pandey said. He said the 30,000 plus population of Kon would be enrolled within a month. The entire state has to complete the project by March 2012.