BENGALURU: The National Census has begun in the Greater Bengaluur Authority (GBA) limits from Thursday. The GBA has appealed to residents, apartment owners and associations to cooperate with the census. It has warned the public that census information cannot be denied.
Providing information for the census is mandatory under the Census Act, 1948, and the GBA has cautioned that refusal or obstruction will invite legal action. From Thursday, enumerators, supervisors and census officials will visit apartment complexes to collect house listing and demographic information.
The GBA has issued an advisory to all apartment complexes and residents asking them to extend full cooperation to census officials, enumerators and supervisors, provide them with accurate and complete information, and allow them entry into their premises so that census work can be carried out smoothly. The GBA has warned of legal action if National Census information is denied.
GBA Special Commissioner Mounish Moudgil held a press conference on Thursday regarding the census and said that the option for self-enumeration was provided from April 1 to April 15, and now the census will be conducted from April 16 to May 15. He urged all members of the public to participate in this census. There are 23,705 enumerators and 2,912 supervisors involved.
Phase 2 of the census will begin in 2027 and participation is compulsory. The census will collect basic information about the house and family, details of facilities available in the house, along with information on TV, computer, internet facility, mobile and vehicle. Details about the main food grain consumed will also be asked, Moudgil said.
He stated that if anyone deliberately refuses to provide information, legal action will be taken, but added that he hopes it won’t reach that stage as people are responsible. A sticker will be pasted in front of houses. Those who are not at home at the time can contact later using the details on the sticker. Night rounds are also planned.Currently, house listing is under way. There is a question about caste in the questionnaire, but that will be conducted next February.
Meanwhile, a protest was held at the GBA head office premises by more than 400 persons with disabilities working in various departments under GBA limits. They were demanding that persons with disabilities be immediately exempted from census duty.
The persons with disabilities submitted a petition requesting exemption, and have given a deadline to grant exemption from census work by this evening. However, the GBA has given exemption to only a few. There is a demand to exempt all employees with disabilities from census duty.
Moudgil later said that for persons with disabilities who are unable to walk, exemption will be given from census duty. They will be exempted from the enumeration work.
