UID launch today in tribal district with Cong links

Pragatiche mahadwar ughadnar Aadhar (Aadhar will open the floodgates to development), says a massive hoarding at Tembhli village in Maharashtras Nandurbar district.

From Wednesday,Tembhli will cease to be an ordinary village. It will go down in history as the launch pad of one of Indias most ambitious exercise in recent times the Aadhar or UID project. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on Wednesday launch the UPA governments project that will give a unique identity number to all Indian citizens.

As the banner denotes,Tembhli,and the predominantly tribal district of Nandurbar,certainly needs development. Congress leaders say the party,with its focus on marginalized sections,could not have chosen a better place for the national launch of the much-publicised scheme.

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Located near the borders of Maharashtra,Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh,and 450 km from state capital Mumbai,Nandurbar has a 68 per cent tribal population. The district is known for endemic poverty,malnutrition,low human development indices,a large below-poverty-line population and a lack of basic infrastructure.

The district has been close to the Congress and has seen several other launches. The late Indira Gandhi and present party president Sonia Gandhi have launched national election campaigns of the party from here and the constituency has elected a Congress candidate to the Lok Sabha nine times.

So it was natural for the party to make fresh overtures in its bastion,with Sonia Gandhi due to address a rally with the Prime Minister after the launch of Aadhar,local Congressmen said.

Nandurbar is a known tribal district in India. A tribal area has been chosen for the UID launch, said local Congress MLA and Minister of State for Tribal Development,Padmakar Valvi.

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Wednesdays launch will see residents of Tembhli get a 12-digit number that will be a link to all their demographic details and bank account so that they can access government programmes.

While the change promised by Aadhar may happen over time,the launch event has already brought in short-term gains. The village has seen a rush of development work and a makeover,including new electricity connections,streetlight poles,tarred roads,a new concrete road and a drainage scheme.

Houses,and even a milestone outside the village with the Aadhar logo,have got a fresh coat of paint. Some locals said even children from the village school were given haircuts to prepare them for the VVIP visit.

This work must be taken forward. We should not be neglected later, said Subhash Sonawane,a villager here.