Rotten to the core: NADRA detecting ‘flood-cheats’

People from flood-stricken areas vying to get multiple Watan cards issued.

ISLAMABAD: The National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) has detected several flood survivors who attempted to receive the official cash assistance more than once, officials disclosed,  indicating a ‘national mindset’ about corruption and desperation among people of areas hit by the heavy floods this summer.

At a time when legislators are not far behind in getting assistance, not surprisingly it took only ten persons to clock over one thousand visits combined to the NADRA offices in an attempt to get a second card, they added.

Against this background the registration authority has prepared a ‘top ten’ list of people who visited its regional offices multiple times for their second card.

In this list Muhammad Abdullah from Thul, Jacobabad District in Sindh secured first position, he visited the NADRA offices a record 145 times in spite of already having a Watan card. Imtiaz Ali from Karachi is the runner-up in this infamous list with 127 visits to his name. The table lists the remaining.

Every cloud has a silver lining and so contrary to the norm one Muhammad Ismail from Thatta district sent an application to the authority’s deputy chairman that he wanted to hand over his Watan card because he donated the amount to other flood victims last month.

Similarly, it is also pertinent to mention here that Gilgit-Baltistan’s former chief executive and a Pakistan Peoples Party stalwart, Pir Karam Ali Shah, who is also a victim of the floods received his Watan card from the NADRA office in Gahkuch.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman Tariq Malik told The Express Tribune that over 1.27 million Watan cards have been issued in response to the set target of some 1.6 million. Giving further details, he said over 52, 547 Watan cards have been issued in Balochistan, some 186, 726 cards have been issued in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 4,269 cards in Azad Jammu-Kashmir and over 2,070 cards have been issued to people in Gilgit-Baltistan. Punjab has been issued the largest number of Watan cards with the count topping 581,000; Sindh follows with 400, 000 cards issued.

The deputy chairman lamented the mindset of the populace of flood-hit areas, saying they waste the time of NADRA’s officials. It also indicated the non-cooperative attitude of the public; the authority is already struggling hard to cope with the assistance for the natural disaster, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2010.