Examiner Bureau | Srinagar:
The month-long population enumeration exercise in snow-bound and non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir began on Tuesday, with enumerators undertaking physical visits to households across 16 districts of the Union Territory.
The exercise will continue from September 1 to September 30, covering remote areas where enumeration is conducted separately because of their difficult winter conditions.
Amit Sharma, Director Census Operations for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and Chief Principal Census Officer for both Union Territories, said the population enumeration had commenced in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir as well as across the entire Union Territory of Ladakh.
Sharma is visiting the Dudu and Basantgarh subdivisions of Udhampur to formally inaugurate the enumeration exercise.
According to officials, the exercise will cover 1,115 villages and three municipalities identified as snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Doda has the highest number of such villages and municipalities at 305, followed by Kishtwar with 158 and Baramulla with 93.
The other districts covered include Kathua (48), Poonch (24), Kupwara (49), Budgam (5), Bandipora (28), Ganderbal (7), Pulwama (32), Shopian (32), Anantnag (55), Kulgam (66), Ramban (88), Udhampur (79) and Reasi (49).
The three municipalities included in the snow-bound non-synchronous category are Uri, Gulmarg and Kishtwar.
As part of the second phase of the Census exercise, the self-enumeration process in these areas was conducted from August 17 to August 31, allowing residents to submit their household details through the designated process before the physical enumeration began.
The ongoing exercise will now involve enumerators visiting households to verify and record the required population and demographic information.
The first phase of the Census exercise across Jammu and Kashmir was conducted in June, with government officials undertaking the enumeration process across the Union Territory.
Officials said the separate schedule for snow-bound areas is aimed at ensuring that residents of remote and geographically challenging regions are fully covered in the population enumeration process before the onset of harsh winter conditions.
