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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Census of the homeless in Delhi complete by Jiby Kattakayam

Census of the homeless in Delhi complete by Jiby Kattakayam

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published Published on Mar 2, 2011   modified Modified on Mar 2, 2011
NGOs fear several thousands left out

‘A mockery as enumerators insensitive'

The census of the homeless in Delhi was completed on Tuesday with officials saying that they put in their best effort to count as many persons as possible, though some NGOs feared that several thousands were left out.

Director of Census Operations (Delhi) Varsha Joshi said she along with other top officials had personally supervised the effort which began on the night of February 27 and had utilised the services of NGOs to identify temporary shelters that had been pitched for the winter months and other pockets where the homeless reside.

On February 26, NGO volunteers and census workers sat together to map all the areas where the homeless reside. Accordingly, they decided to target high-density areas like Jama Masjid and Okhla Mandi on February 27, and other areas on February 28. However the exercise spilled over to March 1 too as some areas like Nigambodh Ghat and Loha Pul were yet to be covered.

Indu Prakash Singh of the Indo-Global Social Service Society expressed unhappiness with the census exercise and termed it a “mockery”. He said teachers who worked as enumerators were insensitive to homeless persons and that the enumeration exercises were done in a haphazard manner.

“In Nizamuddin, our volunteers saw enumerators entering several families on one form. They were not asked questions listed in the form. The data will be lacking in quality. This would not have been the case if NGO volunteers were assigned to do the enumeration,” Mr. Singh said.

However, Dr. Amod Kumar of Mother NGO said the census officials had done their best considering the quantum of effort involved in the exercise. “The senior officials personally supervised the effort which ensured that the enumerators stayed focussed on the job.”

Dr. Amod said it was impossible for NGO volunteers to replace the teachers who do the enumeration work as they did not have the resources or the manpower.

Paramjeet Kaur of Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, while noting that the census effort had improved from 2001, said the two days that the officials reserved were inadequate as the homeless are a scattered population. She observed that at many places the enumeration task began only after 9 p.m. and continued into the morning hours. “It should have ideally begun at 6 p.m. Most of the homeless had to be woken up from their sleep late at night.”

The same complaint was made by Beghar Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti.

The Census Operations (Delhi) director said her department had done its best to accommodate the reservations expressed by the NGOs but it was impossible to satisfy everyone, considering the huge logistics that the effort involved.

The 2001 Census had counted nearly 25,000 homeless persons in the Capital. A survey of the homeless led by the Mother NGO from August to December 2010 had counted 67,000 homeless persons in the Capital. A similar survey by the IGSSS in 2008 had counted over 80,000 homeless in Delhi.

The Hindu, 3 March, 2011, http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/03/stories/2011030366090400.htm


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