Misinformation and Long Lines: Clarifying the Aadhaar Authentication Process for LPG Customers in West Benga

Due to rumors of a December 31 deadline, thousands of LPG customers are waiting in long lines for hours in front of LPG distribution counters throughout the state to authenticate their biometric data.

Gas companies have made it clear that there is no deadline for authenticating biometric data to confirm domestic LPG customers' Aadhaar details.

Additionally, Aadhaar biometric authentication is only required for customers receiving subsidies, specifically Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries. Customers of Indian Oil who are enrolled in the Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh Scheme, also known as PAHAL, are required to undergo this authentication.

You can authenticate yourself via the UIDAI website, mobile applications, or portals run by gas companies. The service of authentication is free.

But there is a lot of false information out there, and both LPG users who are receiving the subsidy and those who are not are equally inconvenienced.

Domestic Nadia LPG user Sanjoy Sarkar stated: "I was told authentication is mandatory for all."

Last week, farmer Lakshmi Konra from Parui in Birbhum went to an LPG distributor in Bolpur and waited in line for more than five hours to finish the procedure. "I paid 100 rupees for food and bus fare because it took the whole day. I was informed that the deadline is December 31. I feel like I'm being completely harassed during harvest season," she remarked.

Technical or network issues caused additional delays in many locations. A few clients claimed that distributors either made them purchase new pipes as accessories or charged them between Rs 100 and Rs 200 for the authentication service.

Manager of corporate communications at Indian Oil Tapan Kumar Pradhan said in an interview with The Telegraph: "We don't know how the misleading issue of deadline comes." The time frame for verifying Aadhaar data is indefinite. Even in the extremely unlikely event that a customer fails to complete the authentication, there is no mention of service termination or connection deletion. The assistance is given without charge.

More than 2.65 crore domestic LPG users live in Bengal.

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