PESHAWAR Mar 15 (APP): The sixth national population and housing census began in Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Orakzai Agency of FATA on Today(Wednesday) after 19 years gap amid tight security arrangements by the law enforcement agencies. Saeed ur Rehman, Assistant Census Commissioner told APP on Wednesday the 6th national population and housing census started Wednesday morning in 13 selected districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa and lone Orakzai Agency of Fata that would continue till April 13, 2017.
In Peshawar, the enumerators alongwith security staff started enlistment of houses by marking numbers on each house before starting of its formal counting. The people have been asked to keep their Computerized ID Cards of the head of family in houses in case he/she out of the area to ensure authenticity and identity of the family. The official said the census was started 8 am and would continue till 4pm without break. One enumerator along with security personnel would enlist names of houses, shops, persons, ages, married, unmarried persons, education, gender etc in two different farms in their specified blocks in urban and rural areas and would submit it to the concerned authorities soon after completion.
The 13 KP districts where census began today are Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Hangu, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Batagram, Torghar and Orakzai Agency..
Rehman said over 13,000 staff including teachers, enumerators and other officials of various national building departments had been trained from February 7-28, 2017 for performance of this national obligation.
All census related items including vehicles, utensils/registration farms had been dispatched to the divisional and district officers to make the campaign a success, he said. Funds to Deputy Commissioners of the selected districts have been provided for smooth holding of the census, he added.
The second phase will commence from April 25 and would continue till May 24, 2017. In the second phase, census would be held in 12 KP districts including Bannu, Kohat, Karak, Tank, Malakand, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Bunner/Daggar, Shangla and six tribal agencies namely Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency, Kurram Agency, Bajaur Agency, South Wazir Agency and North Waziristan Agency. In case of wrong information or non-cooperation by any individual, he said, the accused would face six months imprisonment and Rs50000 fine. He appealed masses to cooperate with census staff and enlist themselves for their own interest as the government would provide services to them on the basis of 6th national census in future.
