The first slew of complaints have started pouring over the census — such as areas being excluded and political party activists roaming around with the teams of enumerators doing the house listing.
Taj Haider of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) own census monitoring committee has asked the provincial census commissioner to look into the complaints. According to him, they have received reports that town municipal offices and the offices of certain political parties are being used.
“According to the law, only the offices of the deputy district officers can be used for census work,” he said on Saturday. “It is also a known fact that census officials are being accompanied by activists of rival parties who direct them to act in a certain manner.” In some instances, families living in a multi-storied building were assigned only one number because of their known affiliation with the PPP, Haider alleged.
Elsewhere, single families are being given multiple numbers because of their affiliation with a rival party, whose workers were accompanying the census staff.
Empty plots and houses have also been allotted numbers, Haider said.
He also told the commissioner that additions and alterations were being made en masse in Orangi, Baldia and Site towns. He warned that if this continues, the party would reject the entire exercise. People can contact the Census control room at 021 99 222 001 to 2 to register complaints.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2011
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