Elderly queue for National ID cards

BY TILACHAN PANDEY/SUDHA DEV

Gulmi/Saptari, Sept. 3: District administration offices in Gulmi and Saptari are struggling to cope with an unprecedented crowd as senior citizens rush to obtain National Identity Cards (NIDs), now mandatory for accessing social security allowances.

In Gulmi, elderly citizens arrived outside the district administration office before dawn, braving the cold to secure their place in line. Eighty-six-year-old Chumkala Aryal from Musikot Municipality-5 said she had no choice but to join the crowd after her ward office notified her that allowances would no longer be distributed without an NID. “We used to receive the allowance easily, but now the card has become compulsory. At this age, it is difficult to wait in long queues, yet I have no other option,” she said.

Eighty-year-old Atmaram Ghimire from Malika Rural Municipality-7 echoed the concern. “If we come early, the work finishes sooner. Otherwise, it takes the whole day. The crowd is getting bigger each day,” he said.

According to Hari Prasad Gaire, Assistant Chief District Officer of Gulmi, the rush is also linked to the ongoing renewal of social security allowances. He said the administration has been prioritising elderly citizens and has introduced a token system to manage the crowd. On Sunday alone, 121 individuals applied for NIDs, most of them senior citizens, informed Section Officer Sarita Acharya.

Meanwhile, Gulmi has seen more people applying for duplicate citizenship certificates than new ones. Between last Sunday and Friday, 62 people applied for new citizenship certificates, while 86 applied for duplicates. Assistant CDO Gaire said that this is because people often neglect their original certificates, discard them carelessly, or need to correct past errors. In addition, mistakes in citizenship documents are revealed during the NID process, further driving demand for duplicates.

Within the same period, the administration also collected nine applications for minor NIDs, 113 for passports, distributed 110 passports, received 258 NID applications, and distributed 201 cards. It also verified 35 Dalit, Janajati, and family records, and renewed one institution. In total, the office collected Rs. 573,500 in revenue; Rs. 565,000 from passports, Rs. 6,500 from institutional renewals, and Rs. 2,000 from NID services, informed Gaire. 

Saptari district has reported an even heavier turnout. The pressure has increased since the government made the national ID card mandatory for opening bank accounts and renewing social security allowances from the first week of Asar (mid-August). As a result, the office has seen long queues of applicants from 7 am to 7 pm every day.

Since tokens for the process are distributed only after 8 am, people from across the district, ranging from youths to the elderly, are compelled to arrive at the office early in the morning to secure their spot. Due to limited staff and resources, many are forced to visit the office repeatedly, sometimes for up to four days, just to complete the process.

Sukhani Devi Sada, a 79-year-old resident of Chhapaki, Rupani Rural Municipality, said she managed to get her photo taken for the ID card only after four days of effort. “We belong to a poor community and survive on social security allowances. I was deeply worried that if my National ID card was not renewed, my allowance would be cut off. Now I feel relieved,” she said.

Chief District Officer of Saptari, Tuvaraj Pokharel, said the office had been making efforts to provide services more smoothly. “Although the government has made the national ID mandatory, the system is not yet fully accessible. In a densely populated district like Saptari, the pressure is naturally high. To manage this, we are even providing services on Saturdays,” he said. According to him, the office currently captures photos of 300 to 350 applicants daily. However, the growing crowd has led to further problems, including a lack of space for queues.