The ordeal that Umme Kulsum had to go through to obtain her national ID (NID) card from the national ID Registration Wing (NIDW) in Dhaka is an experience that a large number of people have to undergo, particularly those seeking a corrected version of one's original NID. And this was brought out very clearly in a report in this paper yesterday. No one should have to come to the NIDW four times like Kulsum, and that too from as far off a place as Chandpur with a minor child, and run from pillar to post to get the NID card in hand.   

NID has been an important addition to everyone's personal document since its introduction. And this has become indispensable in the daily life of a person, from seeking a job to applying for a license or for a visa. Admittedly, the authorities have done a very good job of issuance of NID cards but have had to contend with a large number of cards that have mistakes. We are glad to learn that the correction service has been decentralised to the upazilla election offices which will reduce the burden on the NIDW. 

That being so, we would hope that the upazilla election offices as well as the NIDW would organise their work in a manner that would lessen the burden on the card seekers, be it for a lost NID or for correcting it. It should not be lost upon the authorities that it is quite difficult to get about without one's NID card, and to be without it for five months, let alone one, as in the case of Kulsum, can make life very arduous.