A day after MiD DAY reported that a doctor was helping the residents of Walled City to get UID cards, local authorities have shut down his centre

Following MiD DAY's report that a doctor was helping the residents of the Walled City to get UID cards, the local authorities have not only ordered to shut down the UID centre, they are also asking him to cough up money. They say a UID camp can't be organised at a private property.


Saukat Ali Hashmi and M N Khan

The centre has been closed suddenly and shifted to Prasad Nagar in central Delhi. The centre was in operation from July 3 to October 13, a day after MiD DAY carried the news report. Freedom fighter and local resident of Bazar, Chitliqaber Saukat Ali Hashmi complained that instead of appreciating Dr Sanjay Dhingra, who provided the space, the authorities have decided to close the centre. "If the centre can't be run at private places, how did they operate it for more than three months? It is closed only after the news report published in your newspaper," Hashmi told MiD DAY. Hashmi is not the only resident who wanted the centre in the neighbourhood. "Until all residents get their UID card, it is unfair to shift the centre," rued Sirajuddin Qureshi, a resident of Gali Takathwali, Suiwalan.


Dr. Sanjay Dhingra

Apart from shifting the centre, the UID in-charge is demanding rent and electricity charges from Dr Sanjay Dhingra, who has provided his clinic for the facility free of cost. "The UID centre in-charge is pressurising me to pay rent and electricity charges. He is saying a machine has broken down at his centre and he will use the money to pay for the losses," Dr Dhingra told MiD DAY. It may be recalled that Dr Dhingra was also deputed as introducer in the area and he had introduced 952 residents.

"When all local schools had rejected the proposal to provide space to start a UID centre, Dr Dhingra offered his place voluntarily. Now when hundreds of residents have registered at this centre and hundreds more are still to register, it is unfortunate to close it," said Jameel, a resident of Gali Tajran, Suiwalan. Another resident, MN Khan, demanded a new UID centre to cover those who don't have UID cards.u00a0
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According to sources, the centre has now been shifted to Arya Samaj Mandir, Prasad Nagar.