Vijaynagar, 6 April

A 45-year-old woman in Karnataka has been left without crucial government benefits after an Aadhaar-linked error wrongly declared her “dead” in official records.

N Hampamma, a resident of Dharmasagar village in Hosapete taluk, Vijayanagara district, has spent months visiting local offices to prove she is alive.

In India’s increasingly digitised welfare system, Aadhaar is mandatory for accessing schemes. However, Hampamma says the same system has failed her. “I tried to prove I am alive using Aadhaar itself,” she told Salar News, expressing frustration at repeated bureaucratic runarounds. “Officials tell me to go from one office to another. It feels like a mockery of my existence.”

The error has caused severe distress and halted benefits, including payments under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, for the past year. Her farmer ID has reportedly expired, and even housing applications have been rejected as the system lists her as deceased.

Officials attribute the issue to a technical glitch. Hosapete Tahsildar Shruti Gowda told Salar News that another woman with the same name died in 2021, and Hampamma’s Aadhaar number was mistakenly linked to that record on the e-Janma portal. Authorities claim most benefits remain active and have assured a resolution within days.

Meanwhile, the matter has drawn legal attention. The Upa Lokayukta has taken suo motu cognisance, calling it an “administrative failure” and issuing notices to local officials. They must respond by 20 May, 2026.