The Dharwad district administration has achieved 82% of the target given to it under the Karnataka Social and Educational Survey taken up by the Permanent Backward Classes Commission and data suggests that it has achieved the target in rural areas but has faced challenges in urban areas.
According to available data the enumerators have not been able to get information from around 1.5 lakh households and with 3.8 being the size of an average family, an estimated 4.5 lakh people have not been covered under the survey in the district out of the projected number of 22.5 lakh people in the district.
Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Divya Prabhu G.R.J. clarified that while 1.5 lakh households that have so far not been covered under the survey and the reasons for the non coverage were multiple. “It is not just reluctance or rejection to participate in the survey. There are other reasons as well. Enumerators have not been able to cover some houses that were locked and then there is the problem of people migrating to city on work but have their houses covered under the survey at their native places,” she said.
Urban population
She said that another challenge that the district faced was with regard to the highest urban population in the district. “Barring the State capital, Dharwad district has the highest urban population in the State. In most of the districts, the urban population is around 10%. Even Mysuru district has an urban population of 25% but in Dharwad district the urban population amounts to 55% of the total population of the district,” she said.
She said because of the high urban population, the enumerators faced several changes because of which the percentage was less compared to rural areas, where they had achieved cent percent target.
On reports about the district recording more number of rejections to take part in the survey, she declined to comment saying as authentic data on had not been made available to them yet by the State, it would be inaccurate to comment on it.
However, she said that the district administration was carrying out extensive awareness on the mop up round and use of online portal to take part in the survey. The teachers had also been asked to identify school children left out from the survey, she said.
