Bhaskar spends a day with census workers in Bhopal:Two-room homes shown as separate houses; arguments erupt over giving mobile numbers

In the first phase of the census, which began on May 1, officials are collecting data on living conditions along with house counting, but census workers are facing several field challenges. Many residents are showing two-room houses as separate dwellings, while some are refusing to share mobile numbers. Extreme heat, locked gates, and hesitation among people have further complicated the survey process. Under the first phase, details related to housing, facilities, and lifestyle are being collected. Six census workers are working under one supervisor, with each enumerator assigned a target of surveying 200 houses in five days. Bhaskar’s team closely observed the door-to-door survey to understand the ground-level difficulties and challenges faced by enumerators. Read the report Investigation started at 9 AM Four rooms in one street, but each room ‘a separate house’ After some time, the team reached a house where four couples from the same family were living. There were four rooms in the house, but each family was calling their room a separate house. Upon asking, it was found that people are under the impression that the government is conducting a survey to allocate houses in the future. Due to this, people are trying to present one house as multiple houses. 15 minutes of debate on giving phone number Around 12 PM, at a house, when asked for a mobile number, the family refused to provide the information. The census worker argued with them for about 10 to 15 minutes. Later, the team explained the app and the entire process, and then the family provided their brother’s number. Knocking door-to-door in 45-degree heat By 11:30 AM, the sun was directly overhead. Census workers continuously roamed the streets in the intense heat. During this, an elderly woman was found who was calling her two-room house two separate dwellings. Further on, families were also found who had come to Bhopal from Gujarat 40-50 years ago. They still live in mud houses and cook food on chulhas (earthen stoves) using wood brought from the forest. Somewhere closed gates, somewhere people’s cooperation Many houses were found locked. Even after asking neighbors, complete information could not be obtained. Meanwhile, some families had written their name and mobile number on the door before going to work, so that the census worker would not have to come again. During this time, until around 12:30 PM, the Bhaskar team observed the enumeration of approximately 40 houses with different census workers. Census officer issued an appeal Bhopal’s District Census Officer has appealed to the public regarding the problems faced by census workers and cases where people hide information. According to District Census Officer Bhuvan Gupta, census information is completely confidential. It is only for statistical use. It has no relation to the benefits people receive. Meanwhile, a training session has also been organised by the administration at Model School TT Nagar on Sunday at 12:00 PM for the technical difficulties and other problems faced by census workers. In this, all doubts of the census workers will be cleared.