Heat, assault greet Census officials during field work

Bhubaneswar: With temperature crossing 40° Celsius in several parts of the state, the govt on Wednesday announced suspension of Census-related field work from 11 am to 3 pm, when the heat is at its peak. The decision comes in the wake of reports of Census officials falling ill during duty hours due to the heatwave.Besides, district collectors have also been asked to ensure the safety of enumerators from attacks and harassment following reports that four Census officials were assaulted during field work in Kamakhyanagar, Dhenkanal district, revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said.The minister said the govt has received reports that many of them facing harassment while approaching people during door-to-door visits.Earlier in the day, four Census officials, including two women, were allegedly assaulted and abused by one Nikunja Satpathy and his two sons at Anantapur Colony in Kamakhyanagar. The accused also vandalised their two-wheelers. The injured are teachers Madhusmita Behera and Swarnalata Sahoo and notified area council officials Raghunath Dixit and Satyan Behera.Madhusmita alleged the family had earlier refused to share any data when Swarnalata visited their house on Tuesday. “On Wednesday, I decided to accompany her and get the details because we cannot proceed to the next house without completing the task. However, after reaching there, the owner of the house, Nikunja Satpathy, and his two sons slapped us on the ground that we had barged into their house without permission,” Madhusmita said.After receiving information, two other officials on Census duty, Raghunath and Satyan, rushed to the spot, only to be assaulted and then chased away with sticks and stones by the family.Following sub-collector Dinamani Naik’s intervention, the accused were arrested by Kamakhyanagar police. “The revenue department has taken a serious note of all such problems being faced by Census officials. Discussions have been held with the home department on the safety of these officials,” he said.The first phase of the Census exercise commenced on April 16 and will continue till May 15. During this period, enumerators are undertaking door-to-door surveys to gather information on housing conditions, household amenities and assets owned by families across the state.Meanwhile, revenue and disaster management department additional chief secretary Arabinda Kumar Padhee has issued an advisory to all district collectors and municipal commissioners to ensure the safety of enumerators. Officials have been instructed to mitigate heat-related risks, identify hazardous areas during data collection and ensure continuous monitoring and tracking of enumerators throughout the exercise.The Census exercise is being carried out by more than one lakh personnel, many of whom are teachers. Around 1.2 crore households across all districts are being covered, director of Census operations, Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, said.