KARACHI: Though the country’s sixth population and housing census has been going on in the city amid tight security, but it was feared that many houses may not be counted due to unavailability of updated map of the metropolis with the Census Committee, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Complaints received from bordering areas of the port city that the census staff has refused to count those houses which were constructed in the recent past as the staff deployed for census claimed that they would only count those houses which were present in their map.
The first phase of census began in Sindh on March 15. In the first phase, house count in six districts of Karachi, as well as Hyderabad and Ghotki districts, will be undertaken.
Karachi has been divided into 21 census districts. Out of 931 total charges in Sindh, 365 are in Karachi. The charges have further been divided into circles, which have been curved up into 14,550 blocks.
Per details, the residents of the city’s those areas situated on the borders have complained that the census staff was not counting houses constructed in un-notified areas. The complainants maintained that the census staff when questioned about this, they claimed that the area doesn’t exist in map provided to them by the Census Committee.
“There are 750 house in Seven Star Colony situated in Sohrab Goth, but the census staff counted just 250 houses in this colony,’ a resident of the area complained. “When we forced to count others houses, then they shown us map they were given to count houses,” the resident maintained.
A similar type of complaint received from Kunwari Colony, Manghopir. A resident of the area claimed that the population of the area is increasing fastly, and majority of the new comers are Pakhtons.
“The census staff when started counting of houses in Kunwari Colony, it has missed number of houses in the area and claimed that the map available with them is showing that there is no house in this area,” the resident maintained.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Awami National Party (ANP) General Secretary Younus Buneri claimed that the party has its hold in above mentioned areas. “We also received complaints from these areas and we apprised the Census Committee about these complaints,” he added.
“Population and housing census is a good move of the government, but there is a dire need to ensure transparency in this exercise to achieve the desired goals,” Buneri maintained.
