KARACHI – The first phase of the sixth census kicked off on Tuesday across the province, with as many as 8,500 officials having been engaged by the Karachi district government to complete formalities. The census has begun without a provincial census commissioner, even though the Federal government was supposed to appoint one and it did so for the other three provinces.
The first house to be marked in Sindh was Governor’s House, with Karachi Administrator Fazlur Rehman painting the digits OO1 at the Gate No 1 of the governor’s residence. District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mohammad Hussain Syed and Karachi Executive District Officer (EDO)-Revenue Roshan Shaikh were also present at the ceremony. Interestingly, the census process in Punjab started with marking the Punjab Assembly building.
Administrator Rehman said that the census holds much importance in the progress of the country as the distribution of resources will be based on these details. He said that in the first phase, every housing unit will be marked and listed, regardless of whether they are situated in katchi abadis, posh areas or in a multi-storey complex.
Unlike the past, Rehman said, when all apartments in a complex were given a single registration number, each apartment in a complex will now be marked as a separate housing unit. “This arrangement will prove beneficial especially for Karachi where a majority of families reside in apartments,” he said.
Rehman said that identity cards are a must for house counting, and requested citizens cooperate with the green-cap-donning census staff.
DCO Muhammad Hussain Syed said that separate teams have been formed at town level, which will be monitored by the DDO-Revenue concerned, while District Officer (General) Abid Zawwabi and Additional EDO-Revenue Matanat Ali Khan will oversee the entire process.
The first phase of the census will continue till the 19th.
