As the vibrant summer ushers in the herald of autumn comes a heartwarming assertion of national unity and democracy in the snow-draped regions of Jammu and Kashmir. The month-long exercise of taking the population census that commences today witnesses enumerators visiting households to record information in 16 districts of the UT.
An exercise that affirms the notion that no citizen is too remote gets under way in the UT today as census enumerators make their way into homes to collect data.
Taking the census this year involves a Herculean task as it covers 1,115 villages and three municipalities including picturesque towns different areas of J&K.
The census has been chalked out with an eye on the clock as the winter is set to arrive soon after which these remote areas would be cut off from the rest of the world.
For instance, Doda with 305 villages and Kishtwar with 158 villages are picturesque but difficult terrains where government officials have vowed to reach every home.
Come what may, government officials will go to any length to ensure that the 12,045 families living on the steep hills are brought into the mainstream by visiting them.
Meanwhile, this year’s census is a testimonial to the growing confidence in technology as it is for the first time a digital census which apart from using age-old methods of collecting data is also a people’s census.
After the voters participated in the digital self-enumeration, the human touch has been added by the door-to-door survey which uses technology to ensure that the data-base is accurate to the last decimal point.
The data so collected would form the basis of future planning as it will pave the way for ushering in new initiatives ranging from laying roads in these remote areas to launching welfare schemes for the residents. As the census enumerators trudge through these difficult terrains they will carry the message that the residents of J&K are not forgotten by the government.
