Bengaluru
The Social and Educational Survey, commonly referred to as the caste survey, encountered obstacles on its first day in Bengaluru on Saturday after enumerators staged a protest demanding that their concerns be addressed.
Around 100 enumerators held a sit-in at the Malleswaram municipal office. The survey, launched across Karnataka on September 22, will continue until October 7, with Bengaluru scheduled for a two-day exercise.
Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) said the protestors raised personal challenges, including caring for sick family members and dealing with health issues. Reports indicated that one woman even brought her special-needs child to the protest to emphasize her inability to participate.
Later, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met the protesting enumerators, most of whom are government teachers, and urged citizens to actively participate in the survey. The state government is conducting the survey at an estimated cost of ₹420 crore.
Each enumerator has been assigned a total of 300 households for the survey, which will be conducted over 14 days starting from October 4. Surveying a single household is expected to take at least 30 minutes to one hour, with larger families requiring more time. Out of 60 questions, 40 must be asked individually to each household member and recorded separately, while the remaining 20 general questions can be answered by any one member of the family.
The state-wide Social and Educational Survey is 63.03% complete, covering 3.42 crore individuals and 90.61 lakh households so far. The government aims to survey 1.43 crore families by Oct 7.
