Karnataka’s comprehensive Social and Educational survey has witnessed a remarkable acceleration, just a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a review meeting. During this meeting, he issued clear directives to officials, urging them to achieve at least 10% of the overall survey target daily.
As the survey entered its sixth day, encouraging progress was reported across all districts. Enumerators successfully managed to nearly double their household coverage, while also diligently resolving the initial technical snags that had hampered operations.
Official data, compiled up to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, revealed that a total of 12.8 lakh households have been surveyed since the initiative commenced on September 22. Notably, on Saturday alone, enumerators covered an impressive 8,18,964 households, accounting for over 37% of the day’s ambitious target of 22,05,135 households. This marks a significant jump from the cumulative 4,68,133 households covered until Friday.
Breaking down the Saturday figures, Belagavi district led the charge with 54,506 households surveyed. It was closely followed by Tumkuru (47,772), Mandya (38,816), Haveri (39,323), Davangere (38,423), and Hassan (35,751). Bengaluru Urban (8,104) and Kodagu (9,171) recorded the lowest coverage for the day.
Enhanced Oversight and Problem Solving
Officials acknowledged that the initial days of the survey were complicated by technical issues within the mobile application designed for the process. These glitches unfortunately impacted field operations, leading to delays in household enumeration across several districts.
However, by Friday, most of these technical challenges had been successfully resolved, paving the way for smoother survey operations from Saturday onwards. In Shivamogga, for example, officials confirmed a considerable pickup in survey work since Thursday evening. The district’s Deputy Commissioner underscored the strict monitoring in place by suspending a nodal officer who took leave without prior authorisation.
In Dakshina Kannada, under the direct guidance of Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, enumerators commenced field activities promptly at 7 a.m. and continued diligently until 8:30 p.m. The sixth version of the survey application was rolled out on Saturday morning, and officials ensured that all enumerators had access to UHID-based household lists. Backward Classes Welfare Secretary Tulasi Maddineni further instructed enumerators to cover a minimum of 150 households in their designated areas, fostering better coordination among team members.
Consistent Regional Progress
The Kittur Karnataka region also reported consistent progress, with nearly all technical issues now behind them. In Belagavi, approximately 53,000 families were surveyed on Saturday. Zilla Panchayat CEO Rahul Shinde personally visited households, engaging with enumerators and swiftly addressing any minor technical hitches on the spot. Uttara Kannada reported coverage of 44,464 families, achieving 61% of the district’s target. Similarly, Dharwad recorded over 32,000 families surveyed on Saturday, bringing their cumulative total to 50,000 households.
Other districts, including Haveri, Gadag, Vijayapura, and Bagalkot, also showed significant improvements as enumerators became more adept with the updated tools and refined processes. Authorities emphasized that the close supervision by senior officers has been instrumental in accelerating survey coverage and ensuring the prompt resolution of any operational issues.
Encouraging Self-Declaration
The State Information Department, in a press release issued from Mangaluru, urged citizens to actively participate in the survey by submitting voluntary declarations online. This option allows residents to contribute to the survey without waiting for enumerators to visit their homes.