Pic: : File photo of an enumerator out to collect data for the social and educational survey. Many have been complaining that they cannot find houses assigned to them as there is a lot of confusion in locating themDavanagere: In Davanagere district, approximately 3.9 lakh individuals remain uncovered under the ongoing social and educational survey, with the district administration striving for complete coverage.Surveyors completed nearly 90% of their assigned wards before being directed to shift to other areas on Oct 6. Teachers reported that locating houses within their wards was challenging, and searching in unfamiliar areas proved even more difficult. Bescom officials provided UHIDs for all electricity meters, including those in commercial buildings and borewell RR numbers.Consequently, some enumerators staged a protest in front of the Davanagere City Corporation three days ago, expressing their dissatisfaction with the authorities. The surveyors questioned how they could survey these locations and criticised the threat of suspension if the survey was not completed, deeming it unfair to nodal officers, tahsildar Ashwath, and municipal commissioner Renuka.They argued that the survey could only be completed if Bescom staff pointed out the houses, as it was impossible to conduct the survey without knowing their locations. “If houses are not shown, there will be no survey. If suspensions are to be made, do it collectively,” an enumerator stated.“When we have been struggling to track houses even in familiar areas, how can we find out unknown places? It is difficult to do the work, even in the face of the threat of suspension, despite the officers’ motivation. We are ready to face consequences because we can’t take work without support from the higher authorities,” clarified an enumerator.Before that, a meeting was held on Oct 9, chaired by the deputy commissioner, to address those left out of the survey. Surveyors and supervisors were instructed to work with increased diligence. Instructions were issued to identify families excluded from the survey, with an emphasis on correcting errors found in the collected data.The food and civil supplies department reported that there are 4.21 lakh ration cards in the district. Among these, 56,083 ration card-holding families are yet to be included in the survey, including 10,508 APL and 45,575 BPL card-holding families. “It is mandatory to bring all ration card-holding families under the survey’s scope. Such households must be revisited, and a special house number (UHID) should be created for the survey,” instructed DC GM Gangadharaswamy.A surveyor expressed frustration, saying, “There is a fear among people about the cancellation of ration cards, which has led many to be left out of the survey. They have refused to provide information for the survey, claiming it is not mandatory. Now, including them in the survey again is difficult.” DDPI G Kotresh instructed the teachers, “No one should leave the assigned area under the pretext that the survey work is complete. They must be present in the assigned area and conduct re-checks,” he directed.
