Parents of an 18-month-old baby suffering from a serious heart ailment were a worried lot after they could not arrange for medical treatment to their daughter under YSR Aarogya Sree in the absence of the key KYC document, Aadhaar card.
After running from pillar to post, the couple, members of the Yenadi community, finally visited Integrated Tribal Development Agency project director M. Rani and explained to her the child’s plight. Ms. Rani then arranged for the Aadhaar card and the necessary medical treatment for the child. After a free surgery to repair a hole in the heart, she is now healthy.
Her case, however, is not an isolated one as many of the tribespeople are without Aadhaar card. As a result, they are unable to access the welfare schemes of the Union and State governments. Most do not have birth certificates and residence proofs as well. Braving the inhospitable terrain, they trek the forests and do odd jobs for living, such as catching rats and snakes in farms in the plains or fishing in creeks.
Taking note of this, ITDA, in collaboration with Azim Premji Foundation, has developed a versatile mobile app to reach out to tribal hamlets in the districts of Prakasam, Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa and Annamayya and ensure Aadhaar cards to all their residents, said Ms. Rani, who oversees a month-long survey covering all the tribal hamlets starting with Nellore. ‘‘The survey is to ensure rice cards, Aadhaar cards, health cards, voter ID cards and job card under NREGS to all the tribespeople,” she told The Hindu.
‘’Taking up a special enrolment drive, the ITDA, Nellore, has arranged for Aadhaar cards to over 31,000 tribespeople so far.‘‘ Five mobile Aadhaar kits are provided to cover, among other places, Rapur, Gudur and Addanki.
ITDA had gone to the doorsteps of tribespeople in 42 villages in the mandals of Ulavapadu, Gudluru and Singarayakonda and arranged for Aadhaar cards for over 2,500 Yenadis. Special camps conducted by ITDA at Vaikuntapuram, Bodigadithota Burial Ground, Vinayaka Girijana Colony and Donthali saw enrolment of 500 tribal families for Aadhaar card and admission of their out-of-school wards to Child Ashram schools, Ms. Rani said, adding that 25 additional mobile Aadhaar kits had been positioned to arranged for Aadhaar cards to tribespeople.
While the tribespeople whose children are born in government hospitals face no problem in getting the Aadhaar card, others find it difficult to obtain it. Many are illiterate and suffer from malnutrition, including anemia and other health issues. Infant and maternal mortality rates are also high among them.
The Yenadi tribespeople are divided into sub-groups such as Manchi Yanadi, Adavi Yanadi and Challa Yanadi. They are found mostly in the districts coming under ITDA, Nellore. The Yenadis consider themselves as children of trees, speak a dialect of Telugu and possess immense knowledge of the local flora and fauna. They are now in a difficult situation, unable to continue their hunter-gatherer lifestyle or come to terms with the modern way of living.
