Karnataka’s 5th Aadhaar Seva Kendra opens in Mangaluru

Availing of Aadhaar services just got easier in Mangaluru city with an exclusive Aadhaar Seva Kendra (ASK) operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) starting its operations from Tuesday.

This is the fifth ASK in Karnataka after Bengaluru, Mysuru, Davangere and Dharwad.

There are 83 such centres in the entire country and the first centre is now allotted to the entire coastal region by the government.

Aadhaar Seva Kendra regional manager G Gajendra said that the centre can process upto 500 Aadhaar enrolment and updation applications per day.

“People can avail of all Aadhaar-related services like enrolment and updation of address, name, gender, date of birth, mobile number, email ID, photo and biometric updation (fingerprint and iris) at the centre,” he added.

The centre functions all seven days a week from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm. The time will also be extended depending on the demand from the people, he said.

In Davangere, people from rural areas arrive as early as 8 am to the centre to avail of the services, he added.

The ASK in Mysuru has handled more than 1,000 applications per day while Davangere has processed nearly 600 applications per day, said Gajendra.

People can also book online appointments at ask1.uidai.gov.in and choose a convenient date and time to avail of the services at ASK as well. Aadhaar enrollment and biometric updation are free of cost for those in the age group of 5 to 15, said ASK Davangere head Prajwal.

For other updates/corrections, a nominal fee of Rs 50 will be charged while for the Aadhaar biometric a sum of Rs 100 will be charged, he added.

Mangaluru ASK manager Balakrishna said that the ASK will hold camps in villages for Aadhaar related services in the coming days, to help those bed-ridden and sick who are unable to travel to the Aadhaar service centre to get an Aadhaar card.

In case people do not have any required documents to furnish, then they can get a standard format authorised by a gazetted officer to get the Aadhaar, he said.

The centre is situated at Crystal Arc building, Balmatta Road, Hampankatta.

Inaugurating the ASK, Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V said that the banks, post offices and Gram Panchayats offer Aadhaar services as one of their services along with others. However, they can offer the services to a selected number of people per day. The ASK is an exclusive centre offering services to the people.

Mangalore South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath said that the government has set up its first centre in the coastal belt to cater to the people of the region. The people of Mangaluru should avail the services.