Bengaluru prepares for a massive socio-economic caste survey with 22,000 staff set to visit every household.
Bengaluru
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will launch a citywide socio-economic and educational caste survey on Friday, October 3, Chief Commissioner M Maheshawar Rao announced on Tuesday. Around 22,000 government employees, including ASHA workers, will participate in the exercise, visiting every household to collect data directly from the heads of families.
Rao said clear instructions have been issued to ensure enumerators conduct the survey meticulously. Senior officials will monitor the process and carry out random checks to prevent duplicity or errors. Disciplinary action will be taken against staff who fail to participate or neglect their duties during the survey period.
To prepare, a large-scale training programme was held across 30 centres in the city on Monday. “Training for all survey teams will be completed before October 3, after which teams will spread out across wards and divisions,” a senior official explained.
As part of the preparatory phase, field staff have already visited households to affix GPS-tagged Unique Household Identification stickers at entrances. These tags will help in verifying the accuracy of data collected during the main survey.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha dismissed rumours that ration cards would be cancelled for non-participation. “No ration cards will be cancelled during the survey,” he clarified, urging residents to cooperate fully with enumerators to ensure the smooth completion of this critical socio-economic data-gathering effort.