Census exercise set to resume in state

SHILLONG, Feb 23: The Census exercise, which was put to halt in view of the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to resume in Meghalaya with the concerned authorities only waiting for the green signal from the Union government.
The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Government of India, could not take undertake the exercise last year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the stage is now set and necessary instructions are to arrive from the Centre following which it will begin. The Deputy Registrar General (Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh), Bharati Chanda, said that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registrar General & Census Commissioner will decide on when the census exercise should be conducted.
“However, we are doing our internal preparations as this is going to be the first digital census exercise for which we are continuously updating our technology,” Chanda said.
According to Chanda, the Registrar General & Census Commissioner will also conduct a short field trial in Jowai town during March, wherein six enumerators will be asked to visit 40 houses each with the questions.
“We want to see if the technology is working or not,” she said, while adding that they are ready to start the massive exercise as and when the Union government’s orders arrive.