The ambitious social and educational survey, rolled out statewide on Monday, experienced a rocky start in Karnataka’s Dharwad district, encountering numerous technical difficulties that hindered its smooth execution.
Right from the outset of this extensive data collection effort, enumerators were plagued by common issues such as mobile applications failing to open, frequent One-Time Password (OTP) errors, and unreliable network connectivity.
Reports from official sources confirmed that these technical hurdles were widespread, affecting several taluks including Hubballi, Kundgol, Navalgund, Kalghatgi, and Annigeri.
The core of these problems primarily revolved around the survey’s dedicated mobile application and the system for generating OTPs.
Survey personnel were observed frequently contacting their superiors to report the persistent glitches, indicating that it took considerable time to diagnose and rectify these technical setbacks.
C. Bhanumathi, the District Officer for the Department of Backward Classes Development, informed the press that many enumerators were using older mobile phone models, which prevented the survey application from functioning correctly. These device-specific issues were later resolved.
Despite the efforts, the survey in Navalgund taluk faced a complete standstill, with enumerators unable to make any progress until late afternoon, around 5:30 p.m.
Similarly, in some villages within Kundgol taluk, field workers were forced to halt their operations by 2 p.m. due to the unresolved technical difficulties.
An anonymous enumerator highlighted an additional challenge: teachers assigned to the survey were often deployed to locations 40-50 km away from their usual workplaces, adding to their difficulties.
Technical problems also prevented the survey from effectively commencing in Hubballi taluk.
Even at the Government Kannada Boys School No. 5 in Ghantikeri, where Hubballi City Tahsildar Mahesh Gaste officially launched the survey by distributing materials, no actual data collection could occur for the entire day.
“Our taluk has 100 supervisors and 1,814 surveyors, all of whom have received training and survey kits. While each surveyor is allocated 150 households, the app is currently failing to display these assignments. Once this technical glitch is resolved, our teams will promptly visit every household to gather the necessary data,” explained Mr. Gaste.
Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. personally visited various locations to monitor the survey’s progress and spoke with the field enumerators to understand their challenges.
Ms. Prabhu emphasized that all enumerators had received thorough training and urged them to meticulously record all information.
She further directed enumerators to ensure the completion of their assigned household surveys by the deadline of October 7.
The Deputy Commissioner stated that the survey is scheduled to run for 16 days, concluding on October 7, with a target of covering 5.46 lakh households. A total of 4,880 enumerators have been deployed for this extensive task, and she appealed to residents to offer their full cooperation by providing accurate and complete details.