Census Phase II kicks off: focus on disabled

Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to flag off phase II of the 15th National Census exercise on Wednesday, the National Association of Blind (NAB) is skeptical about the enumerators' ability to collect accurate data of the disabled population in the city.

Suhas Karnik (54), honorary secretary of NAB who is visually challenged and has spent more than three decades working for the visually impaired said the figure of the disabled people in the country during Census 2001 was one fourth of the actual figure.

" Census 2001 accounted for 2.19 crore people as disabled in the country, however there were about 7 crore disabled people according to details furnished by the World Health Organisation ( WHO)," said Karnik.

He further said the Census 2001 accounted for the disabled population at the last minute because of which the enumerators had trouble in preparing a flawless data. Karnik has urged the civic administration and the state government to ask enumerators to get correct and precise information of disabled people. " We have provided special training to master trainers in the city, who have trained civic officers and teachers as enumerators to carry the second phase of the census and explained methods to ask people to speak about any family member being disabled without feeling shy or embarrassed," said Karnik.

" For the first time there is a column that asks for disability due to age. It is important to be counted," added Karnik.

" Accurate figures are must as it aids the central ministry for better planning while devising provisions or schemes for the disabled people," added Karnik. Question number 9 of the census form pertains to information regarding various kinds of disabilities like speech, sight, hearing, locomotive, mental illness, mental retardation, others and multiple disabilities.

" We have taken a note of things which went unfavourable during phase I of the census, however we are prepared to complete the three- week- long exercise, which will end on February 28," said Manisha Mhaiskar, Additional Municipal Commissioner.

" Like last time helplines numbers will be given across all wards however, it will function only from February 21," added Mhaiskar. From March 1 to 5, the civic administration will take into account new births and death figures and count people who have missed the exercise earlier while on February 28, a night long exercise will count the homeless in the city. " All ward officers have been asked to identify the areas in their wards where homeless people are living," said Mhaiskar.

Apart from collating information on literacy level, marital status, employment level, enumerators will cover an estimated 28 lakh households in 20 days even covering migration, marital status and woman's fertility.

Enumerators will also count people in jail in the city, hostels, hospitals etc under the category of institutional household.