The health card blocked by a curfew-cancelled verification camp
👩 Sanahanbi Devi, 36, in Singjamei, Imphal, applied for the Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang (CMHT) health card for her family in early 2024. To activate the card, she needed to bring her 12-year-old son to a biometric verification camp scheduled by the District Office. In May 2024, a curfew was imposed across Imphal following civil unrest. The scheduled verification camp was cancelled. When the curfew lifted in June, the next camp was rescheduled. In July, another round of unrest cancelled it again. By November 2025, her son's health card remained inactive. Every time a camp date was announced on WhatsApp groups, curfew rumours would spread, and the date would shift.
🚨 The problem
In states where periodic civil unrest occurs (Manipur, parts of J&K, Northeast), verification camps and public-service delivery become seasonal. Beneficiaries cannot plan around unpredictable cancellations, and the system offers no offline or alternative verification pathway. A child's health insurance remains inactive through no fault of her own.
🚀 How GabFORGE helped
GabFORGE acknowledged the structural reality and helped Sanahanbi pursue what was achievable:
- 📱 Tracked camp announcements. Monitored official District Office and Health Department announcements (not WhatsApp rumours) for the next verified camp date.
- 🏥 Requested offline biometric arrangement. Contacted the Health Department asking if offline biometric enrollment could be arranged at STNM Hospital (where her son could go for any health need).
- 📞 Escalated emergency provision. Filed a request for emergency health card activation without biometric (temporary, pending verification) given the curfew-caused delays.
- ✅ Provided interim access. In the interim, the district office issued a temporary health identity allowing access to government clinics until the biometric camp could be rescheduled.
A biometric verification camp was held in stable conditions in late 2025. Her son's CMHT card was fully activated. ✅
🇮🇳 Why this matters
When civil unrest disrupts public services, beneficiaries shouldn't be locked out of essential health coverage. GabFORGE surfaces interim solutions (temporary cards, offline enrollment, emergency activation) that can bridge the gap when the formal system is paused.
The long version has Sanahanbi tracking WhatsApp rumours about camp dates, the moment she learned the next scheduled camp was actually happening, and how her son finally got a health card after 18 months of cancelled camps.