No man left behind: Will Ghotki's no-go areas be beyond the census's reach?

Katcha areas of the district remain in the grip of criminals

SUKKUR: The first phase of the population census will be conducted in Sukkur's Ghotki district as well as Karachi and Hyderabad. Around three millions people are living in the katcha (riverine) areas in Sindh and, despite numerous operations against criminals, no-go areas still exist, due to which immunisation teams never visit these areas. This is especially true for the border areas of some districts such as Sukkur, Shikarpur, Khairpur and Larkana.

According to official sources, all the arrangements to start the house count from March 15 have been finalized. After the three-day house counting process is completed, the population census will start from March 18 and will continue till March 27, after which the process of rechecking will continue till April 5. Ghotki was given the status of a district in 1993 and consists of five talukas- Ghotki, Daharki, Mirpur-Mathelo, Ubauro and Khangarh.

 Ghotki district

According to the 1998 census, the population of Ghotki district was 970,550, of which the urban population is 16.33% and rural population is 83.67%. Ghotki district has been divided into 21 charges, for which 21 charge superintendents have been appointed, while 16 circle superintendents and 648 general supervisors have been deployed. The district has been divided into 1,294 blocks and one control room has been set-up in each taluka to aid residents. Around 3,000 persons, including schoolteachers, policemen and army troops, have been assigned this duty.



Interestingly, in Ghotki district alone more than 500,000 people do not have computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and it is not possible for NADRA to prepare their cards in time for the population census. If the census is carried out strictly on the basis of CNICs, then around 30% of the estimated population of Ghotki will be left unregistered, defeating the purpose of the long-awaited census.

The katcha

In Ghotki district the katcha areas in Raunti and Ubauro are connected to the katcha of Southern Punjab, which is said to be a safe haven for outlaws. Though criminal activities have been reduced considerably after the surrender of the notorious Chotu Mazari, the katcha of Ubauro and Raunti is still said to be a shelter for wanted criminals. Similarly, the katcha of Sukkur is connected with the katchas of Shikarpur and Khairpur, while the katcha of Khairpur is connected to Larkana. Due to the coordinated efforts of the Sukkur, Shikarpur and Khairpur police, these katcha areas have been cleared to some extent but are still not 100% safe.

Shikarpur's Khanpur taluka is the most sensitive in terms of criminal activities. As the katcha of Khanpur is connected to the katcha of Larkana and no big operation has been conducted in this particular area as yet, most of the area is a no-go area.



Larkana commissioner Mohammad Abbas Baloch, who holds the charge of Sukkur division as well, admitted to the existence of no-go areas in Ghotki and other districts and said, "Apart from the police, we have the full support of the Pakistan Army". He said all the arrangements have been finalised to conduct the house count and population census process, ensuring that no household or resident is left unaccounted for.

He also admitted that a large number of people are still without CNICs and NADRA does not have the capacity to prepare their cards within a matter of days, therefore they have decided carry out the process without depending upon CNICs alone.

However, Ghotki SSP Masood Bangash claimed that there are no no-go areas left in the katcha. He admitted that there are some criminal elements in the katcha of Raunti and Ubauro but said they will not be a hindrance to the process because the police are committed to leaving no household or resident unregistered.