Karnataka caste census: Panel prepares sixty survey questions to be posed to seven crore people
Bengaluru: With about 1,800 castes listed and 60 survey questions, the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes is gearing up to launch the socio-economic survey of the nearly 7 crore population from September 22.
In preparation for the massive exercise, household mapping is currently underway, and a handbook has been printed to aid in the training process. “We discussed having around 70 questions in the beginning, which has been brought down to about 60. The handbook has been printed for use in training teachers and master trainers,” The Hindu quoted Commission sources as saying.
The training for master trainers will commence on September 8, followed by training for nearly 1.6 lakh school teachers, who will serve as enumerators in the house-to-house survey, starting September 12.
The Energy Department, which is providing geo-tagged household data, has already completed more than 35% of the mapping, and has committed to delivering the full list of households by September 15.
Earlier, the Commission had published a provisional list of 1,400 castes and sub-castes, inviting objections from the public. In response, several communities reportedly submitted requests to add omitted names or alternate names/synonyms for their castes.
The commission had deliberately dropped the names of those castes that had less than 10 households from the published list of 1,400 castes, and a request had come to include them. “We are considering their requests. We expect the caste list to exceed just over 1,800 in the State at the start of the survey. We will also include the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the final list,” The Hindu quoted Commission sources as saying.
Despite the scale of the upcoming door-to-door survey and concerns raised over limited preparation time, Commission officials remain confident. They mentioned that advanced technologies will be used to conduct the survey and monitor its functioning. “If a household is left out of the survey, it can be identified using geo-tagging. We will complete the survey on schedule,” they added.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
