Balangir, June 28: Residents of Balangir would soon be issued biometric identity cards. A drive to take photographs and collect information began from the house of district collector Sailendra Narayan Dey today.

This was a part of the programme of national population register which aims to create a mammoth digital database that would have individual identification details like name, age, address, photographs and biometric signatures like fingerprints and iris of the eye. The database would also contain the unique identification (UID) number.

Earlier, people were asked to furnish their voter ID card, PAN card, and driving licence or ration card as proof of their identity. But the biometric card would solve the problem to a great extent as it would be accepted as an identity proof of a person at the national level.

Official sources said that all persons above five years of age would be enrolled in the national population register and their information would be stored using ultra modern technology. “All the information about a person including name, address, age and photograph would be stored in a computer chip. This apart, features like fingerprints and images of the iris of the eye which, like fingerprints, are believed to be unique to each person, will also be stored in the chip,” said deputy collector Pradeep Nayak.

Executive officer of Balangir Municipality Pradeep Kumar Gardia said at present, the drive to collect information and taking photographs for the biometric card had been taken up in three wards. “We have started the programme in three wards of the town, namely ward Nos. 1, 2 and 3. For the residents of ward No. 1, the centre is Laltikra Primary School while for the residents of ward No. 2, it is Kandhpali Primary School while it is Navajivan Vidyapith for the residents of ward No. 3, All other wards of the town will be covered in a phased manner,” said Gardia.