PRAYAGRAJ, July 3 -- They neither have birth certificates, proof of residence or high school mark sheets nor any other supporting documents, but over 48,000 people in Prayagraj district are seeking Aadhaar cards. When tehsil offices began reviewing the applications requesting birth certificates, they discovered this unusually large number of locals lacking any documents seeking birth certificates just for getting an Aadhaar card, which has left officials puzzled. The situation stems from a recent rule - birth and death certificates older than one year are now issued through tehsil offices. Since a birth certificate is a key requirement for an Aadhaar card, thousands have now applied for old birth certificates. Many of these applicants are aged 60, 70, or even 75 years, shared officials. When asked why they now require a birth certificate at such an advanced age, the common answer is: To get an Aadhaar card, claim officials. The largest number of such pending applications - around 23,000 - are concentrated in the Sadar, Phulpur, and Meja tehsils of Prayagraj. Officials concede that the core issue is that Aadhaar enrollment requires at least one valid document. So, without any documentation, how can these Aadhaar cards be issued? Representatives of a local NGO have even brought the matter to the attention of district magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar. Representatives informed the DM's office that around 48,000 individuals in Sadar, Meja, and Phulpur lack any valid documents but still need Aadhaar cards. One such applicant claimed that the fact that Aadhaar cards are now being sought and preferred for wide ranging works like opening a bank account, getting a ration card to even get benefits of government welfare schemes, the Aadhaar cards have become a necessity for even those who have no documents that are needed to get an Aadhaar card. In response, chief revenue officer Kunwar Pankaj, during a public hearing, drafted a formal letter to the Aadhaar nodal officer in Lucknow....