Caste census 2011 launched

About 2.04 lakh houses to be covered; transgenders too included

If you want the centre to formulate a budget keeping in view welfare of all religions, then better provide accurate data to the enumerators visiting your houses for social, economics and caste census-2011.

The Mysore City Corporation (MCC) on Thursday launched the census in the city as part of the nation-wide exercise. Nagamma and family who reside in Sri Raghu Krupa, next to the home office of medical education and district in-charge minister S A Ramdas ,on first main, sixth cross in Vidyaranyapuram, were the first to furnish the data, marking the beginning of the census. The 40 day census will culminate on February 20.

A team of enumerators including Bhagyamma from Institute of Education for Girls and data entry operator collected the data from the head of the family to the relationship within, besides gender, date of birth, marital status, parents name, occupation, education, religion, caste among the total of 32 columns to be filled for every family. Chronic diseases like HIV will also be recorded. Specially-abled and transgenders are also included.

The data entry operator will record every data collected in the tablet (a handheld computer like device). It will take at least 20 minutes per family. Of the total 32 columns, information of eight is already recorded in the tablet, with the data acquired in the recent population census.  In case, the houses are locked during the survey, the enumerator will visit the house again within the stipulated period.

A total of 400 enumerators and 66 supervisors drawn from education, social welfare, backward classes and minorities welfare and others have been roped in for the job. Besides, there are 17 charge officers and eight charge centres. The charge centres are the place where data collected in the day will be uploaded to the server of national information commission.

Radiant, a company from Bangalore has lent technical support for the whole exercise.
A total of 2.04 lakh houses are located in the city alone with a population of 9.7 lakh in the urban area.

Minister Ramdas said the exercise will also help identify the houseless as the district is planning a separate policy. According to a survey, there are 34,000 shelterless people. Police will also be benefitted with the information collected giving accurate information about actual residents, migrants, tenants etc.,

Mayor Pushpalatha Chikkanna, MCC commissioner K S Raykar who is also the officer general for the census, deputy commissioner K N Dharmappa, district officer, deputy revenue officer Nagendrarappa and others were present.