Bhubaneswar: In the wake of a series of incidents involving census workers, the Odisha government’s Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) department has directed district collectors and municipal commissioners to ensure the safety of enumerators engaged in ongoing census operations and facilitate the smooth collection of data, an official said Wednesday.
In a letter addressed to the collectors and municipal commissioners, the Additional Chief Secretary, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, stated that the first phase of Census 2027, i.e., Houselisting and Housing Census, is ongoing in the state from April 16 and shall continue till May 15.
He further added that during this phase, the enumerators are going house to house to collect data related to housing conditions, household amenities, and assets possessed by households, etc.
Padhee also wrote that during the last few days, several unfortunate incidents have been reported in the media, including the alleged death of an enumerator due to a heart attack after returning from census duty in Sonepur district, a female enumerator reported missing in Mayurbhanj district, three minor accidents and heatstroke cases in Balasore district, and one accident case in Rourkela.
“In view of the aforementioned scenario, you are requested to make necessary arrangements to address heat-related issues, identify danger aspects during the collection of data for the Census, and track the enumerators regularly for their safety and smooth data collection. All enumerators may also be sensitised in this regard,” instructed by Padhee.
Meanwhile, the Odisha R&DM Minister Suresh Pujari told reporters that the department may soon issue a Standard Operating Procedure to ensure the safety of the enumerators engaged in census work in the wake of severe heatwave conditions and other eventualities.
He also informed the media persons about holding discussions with officials of the Revenue Department and the Directorate of Census Operations, Odisha, on the issue. The Revenue Minister also hinted at a temporary suspension of census work during peak daytime heatwave hours, if necessary.
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