Raiganj, July 27 -- A 57-year-old woman from Hemtabad in North Dinajpur district has been forced into a bureaucratic nightmare after government records mistakenly declared her dead, leaving her without access to essential government benefits and identity documents.

Sushila Barai, a resident of Colonypara under Hemtabad police station, has been running from one government office to another for the past two years in an attempt to prove that she is alive. Due to the error, her Aadhaar and PAN cards have become invalid, preventing her from availing benefits of welfare schemes.

The issue came to light after her Lakshmir Bhandar benefits were abruptly discontinued in 2023. According to her son, Sujit Barai, the family approached the Block Development Office (BDO) to verify the records, only to discover that a death certificate had already been issued in Sushila's name.

"We later learned that another woman from our village with the same name had died. During the preparation of her death certificate, my mother's Aadhaar details were mistakenly linked to the deceased. Since then, all her government benefits, including Lakshmir Bhandar, Ujjwala gas and Swasthya Sathi, have stopped," Sujit alleged. He urged the Hemtabad administration to rectify the mistake at the earliest.

The error has also affected Sushila's access to healthcare. Recently, she visited SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for treatment but reportedly faced difficulties in getting admitted because she could not produce a valid Aadhaar card.

Sushila said: "I have been visiting the gram panchayat and panchayat samity offices repeatedly to restore my identity. Being officially declared dead while I am alive has caused immense mental stress, and my health

is deteriorating".

The unusual case has triggered concern among residents of the locality, who fear that similar administrative errors could affect others.

Hemtabad BDO Biswajit Dutta acknowledged the problem and said: "The administration had initiated an inquiry. We do not have the authority to issue a new Aadhaar card. The error occurred when the Aadhaar details of the deceased woman were mistakenly linked to Sushila Barai. We have investigated the matter and informed the district administration for necessary action."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.