Census enumerators run out of forms in Ahmedabad

Census work in Ahmedabad is in the throes of trouble yet again. Earlier, it was the absence of LIC (Life Insurance corporation) and Provident Fund employees that derailed the process, and now it is a shortage of 'kutumb patraks' (forms to note family details), that has taken enumerators off the field for a week.

Some of the enumerators, who're waiting for the census office in Gandhinagar to give them the required number of forms, say census officials have, from the very beginning, given them less forms than needed. The distribution of forms began on April 20, and initially, forms were given for 30 days.

"The actual number of forms distributed at that time needed to be 120 but we were given only 80. One form can be used per family, if the family has eight or less members. But in families with more than eight members, we need a second form. That is why, the 80 forms given earlier have already been used up," said teacher and census enumerator Manish Shukla.

Enumerators feel the non-availability of these kutumb patraks will affect the procedure and delay the completion of the census, the deadline for which is June 4. Within the stipulated time, enumerators have to complete census work in one block of 150 families or 600 people.

Some enumerators fear that because of the delay in getting new forms, they will also lose from their pockets. Some of them have booked tickets to go for holidays, in accordance with the dates when they were stipulated to get done with the census work. The delay might force them to cancel their tickets, causing monetary losses.

City census officer and deputy municipal commissioner Arjav Shah confirmed that they are short of kutumb patraks. "However, we are not responsible for the same. In the meeting with the director of census operations in Gujarat, we have apprised him of the problem. The forms are expected to reach Gujarat by Sunday.“