RAWALPINDI: All arrangements have been put in place for the sixth census which will begin in the Rawalpindi district with the listing of houses on Tuesday followed by head counting from April 28.

The district administration and law enforcement agencies have completed all the arrangements while the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provided forms to the staff who would take part in the census.

Before the start of the census, the administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad resolved issues related to the boundaries of the two cities. The revenue departments of Rawalpindi and Islamabad defined the limits.

Media Town, Bahria Town Phase I to 7, Rawat, Soan and Khatana will be covered by census teams from Islamabad while teams from Rawalpindi will cover Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-1, Bahria Town Phase 8, Dadocha and adjoining areas.

There was confusion between the administrations of the twin cities as who would cover these areas. However, the limits were defined by the revenue officials of the two cities.

Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Talat Mehmood Gondal told Dawn that arrangements, including transportation and accommodation of the teams, had been completed.

He said the training of the staff was also carried out and extra members would be on a standby to replace any team in case of any problem. He said security of the teams would be ensured as the army was in contact with the local administration. “There are over 203 circles in the district and 1,750 blocks. More than 300 houses will be included in each block.”

The DC said the house listing would be held in the first three days followed by the head count to begin on April 28. He said there would be no hurdles in the smooth conduct of the census, adding surplus staff would be on a standby.

On the other hand, the Rawalpindi police deployed 2,600 officials for the security of the census teams. A policeman will be deployed with every team, consisting of two officials. A control room has been established at the city police office while the divisional superintendents of the police will monitor the security arrangements in their respective circles.

Extra police personnel have been deployed at the entry and exist points of the district and search operations started in different areas to ensure security.

The station house officers of all the police stations have been asked to check hotels and inns for any suspicious elements to avoid any untoward incident during the census.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017