More than 35,000 enumerators will start collecting demographic data in the first phase of the sixth population census to begin in 16 districts of Punjab on tomorrow.
Talking to the APP, Punjab Census Commissioner Arif Anwar Baloch said that 5,070 vehicles have been hired and an amount of Rs 830 million distributed among the deputy census commissioners for the first phase which will last till April 15.
“All the logistics and census staff have already been deployed to complete this important exercise in a transparent and secure atmosphere,” he added.
The districts to be covered in Punjab during the first phase include Jhang, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Lahore, Hafizabad, Narowal, Sialkot, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Pakpattan, and Attock.
Mianwali, Bhakkar, Khushab, Sargodha, Chakwal, Jhelum, Sahiwal, Okara, Khanewal, Multan, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Lodhran, Rawalpindi, Cholistan, and Islamabad will be covered in the second phase.
Baloch said a soldier from the army will also be attached with every enumerator for the exercise.
He said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, transgender people will also be counted in the census. The census bureau has also established a helpline which people can access in case they are not counted in the census.
“Special control rooms have also been established to provide assistance to staff and citizens,” he concluded.
As per census schedule, the first phase includes 16 districts of Punjab, eight districts of Sindh, 14 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15 districts of Balochistan, five districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and five districts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
