Ladakh to become first region in country to complete census exercise

Task to be completed by 30th Sept, 1st Oct will be reference date: CPCO

Arvind Sharma

Jammu Tawi, Aug 8: The Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh is all set to become the first region in the country, among UTs or States, to complete the upcoming census exercise by September this year as the administration has been preparing to finish the process ahead of the scheduled timeline.

In an exclusive conversation with the Northlines, the Chief Principal Census Officer (CPCO) of J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, said that the census work in Ladakh has been planned carefully in view of the region’s difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions and heavy snowfall during winter.

“Ladakh is completely snow bound area and harsh region throughout the year and keeping this in view the administration has been working tirelessly round the clock to ensure that the census exercise is completed smoothly despite these challenges,” said Amit Sharma, who is also Director, Census Operations of J&K and Ladakh.

Officials are making arrangements for the deployment and training of the personnel who will carry out the census in different parts of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The administration is also preparing to conduct the Census through the digital means on a large scale, the CPCO said.

The exercise will include collection of important demographic information, including caste-related data, which will help in better policy formulation and planning, he further said.

Special attention is being given to the remote and border areas of Ladakh. He said that completing the census before the onset of severe winter season in Ladakh would make the census exercise easier and more effective.

The data collected through the census will help a lot in planning the development projects in education, healthcare, roads, employment and other sectors in Ladakh besides making the various government welfare schemes more effective with census data in hand, he said.