Census incomplete as deadline nears

The on-going seventh census in Karachi, which is also the city's first digital census, has been mired in controversy.

Every political party active in the city and the province has raised objections over the transparency and authenticity of the digital headcount.

Moreover, the enumerators complain of being handed over a herculean task with no training and little resources.

With only two days left, the population of Karachi has not even reached the number recorded in the sixth census, data revealed. So far, the census has counted 14.473 million people. However, there have been revelations of gross irregularities in the counting process, prompting the need for further verification.

According to sources, 14.473 million people, 1.981 million structures, and 2.814 million units have been counted in Karachi as of April 13.

Officials shared that the census includes 7.598 million men, 6.873 million women, and 12,620 transgender persons. Meanwhile, in Sindh province, which includes Karachi, the population count stands at 49.474 million, with 7.574 million structures and 8.693 million units. The province's male population is 25.9 million, the female population is 23.5 million, and there are 2,596 transgender people.

In Karachi, census workers have counted 2.288 million houses, seven jails, 444 colleges, 29,270 wholesale shops, 2,801 semi-government offices, 156 police stations, 53 orphanages and old age homes, 6,210 hospitals, 375 universities, 191,526 retail shops, 1,922 government offices, 6,595 dairy farms, 261 hostels, 2,284 madrassas, 10,784 mosques, 12,284 production shops , 186 post offices, 11,095 lodges and camps, 14,250 hotels, 11,558 schools, 36,299 factories, 2,409 banks, and 85,196 other constructions.

An enumerator, who wished to remain anonymous, shared his experience working on the census. He stated that he and many of his colleagues were not given adequate training, and faced security issues while working in some areas. Additionally, there were technical problems with the tablets that were being used for data collection. When they finally began the enumeration process, some residents were initially unwilling to provide their ID cards, which resulted in incomplete data.

The enumerator also noted that many people were asleep or away from their homes during their initial visit. He said that the duty of police officials deployed on security duty of enumerators ends at 4pm, which further hampers their work. This resulted in many enumerators being unable to complete their work, and some were forced to only record the head of the household's name, rather than everyone living in the house. These factors contributed to undercounts in many areas, and the need for further verification, the source said.

In response to these issues, Karachi Commissioner Naveed Ahmed Shaikh issued a statement urging the census officials to ensure that every person living in Karachi is counted. He also emphasised the need for accuracy, stating that the census must be conducted fairly and transparently.

To rectify the discrepancies, polio workers have been tasked with re-verifying specific houses in marked blocks across Karachi as per the directions of Commissioner Karachi. This process involves re-counting the population in affected areas to ensure that the final count is accurate and reliable.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2023.