Caste survey in Karnataka picks up on Day two amid technical glitches

Bengaluru: The Social and Educational Survey picked up on Tuesday with 18,487 households being enumerated, even though various technical issues persisted across the state. 

By 6 pm, 18,487 households (71,004 persons) were enumerated across the state (including Days 1 and 2). 

Haveri had the highest number of households enumerated (2,783), followed by Bagalkot (1,840), Belagavi and Gadag (1,826 each), Chitradurga (1,322) and Mandya (1,205). Tumakuru saw the least progress, with only 7 households enumerated.

Though the survey is yet to start in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) region, as many as 53 households (187 persons) were enumerated in some gram panchayats coming under Bengaluru Urban.

Problems persist

Technical glitches and planning problems persisted across districts like Ballari, Vijayanagara, Gadag, Belagavi, Bidar and Dakshina Kannada. The app failed to open in Bidar, with repeated displays on the screen reading “error”

In Belagavi, Jayakumar Hebali, the district president of the state primary school teachers’ association, said: “The list of enumerators includes deceased teachers too. Instead of assigning us places near where we work, they have put us elsewhere. One enumerator has been allotted to nine different places. If the errors are not rectified, we will boycott the survey in Belagavi urban.”

In Hungund in Bagalkot district, teachers complained of being assigned houses in 2-3 different taluks. 

“We had requested the district administration to leave out teachers with serious health issues, pregnant women teachers and those who have crossed 59 years of age. Since the district administration cooperated with this, teachers participated in the survey on Tuesday. However, only 5% of surveys have taken place,” K Dinakar Shetty Amparu, the Udupi district president of Karnataka State Primary School Teachers’ Association. 

Network issues, coupled with problems to enter data in the app, troubled many enumerators.

“In May, teachers had been deployed for the internal reservation survey. Training was imparted on May 2, following which the survey began and ended on June 7. Even now, we haven’t got the honorarium for it. We didn’t
even get an attendance certificate. If we get these letters, we can seek leaves under the KCSR,” a teacher said in Mangaluru. There were also complaints of staff shortage in Mangaluru.

Speaking to reporters earlier in Bengaluru, Backward Classes Commission  chairperson Madhusudhan R Naik said: “As per my information, the survey is going on well. As of now, there are no concerns in the survey. If there are small issues, the administrative authorities will resolve them. It’s not my job.