Hyderabad: A woman from Rajanna Sircilla district was asked to get down from the TSRTC bus midway while travelling from Vemulawada to Hyderabad.
The conductor demanded her original Aadhaar card and refused to accept a colour printout of Aadhaar she had handy, which led to the woman being dropped off mid-way.
Recently, the govt launched Mahalakshmi scheme. Under this initiative, girls, women, and transgender persons, who are state residents, are allowed to travel free of cost in TSRTC buses.
To avail of this facility, women are required to present their Aadhaar card as proof, enabling them to receive a zero-fare ticket for travel across the state. However, in this instance, the conductor did not acknowledge the Aadhaar printout as valid proof and insisted on an original, laminated Aadhaar card.
A video capturing the argument between the conductor and the woman has since gone viral on social media.
In the video, the conductor is seen quarrelling with her, adamantly asking for the original Aadhaar card and questioning the legitimacy of the printout, alleging it was not laminated.
This incident brings to light a significant misunderstanding regarding the validity of Aadhaar cards, according to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), all forms of Aadhaar – whether eAadhaar, mAadhaar, Aadhaar letter, or Aadhaar card – are valid for identification, even if they are in paper form.
Earlier, TSRTC MD VC Sajjanar had said that TSRTC officials would be asking women to show their original Aadhaar, Voter ID, Driving Lisence or any other cards issued by the Central or the State governments to avail zero tickets.
He added that free travel will not be allowed if photo copies are shown on smart phones.
