Census 2011: Apathy plagues counting in Dadar

The enumeration of the homeless in G-North ward — covering Dadar (West), Matunga (West) and Mahim — was plagued by mismanagement.

Instead of demarcating areas to ensure that most of the homeless were counted, the 15 enumerators for the ward insisted on moving in herds. This delayed the process, resulting in the exclusion of many.

The NGOs which were part of the exercise said that the process should have started in the Dadar flower market, as it would be impossible to count the homeless there after 4am when the vendors would start pouring in.

The enumerators, however, began the exercise outside Mahim station, where the homeless could have been counted at any other time, and at Reti Bunder, where a large number of the homeless work through the night for a catering service. NGO volunteers tried in vain to guide enumerators to obvious areas in Mahim where the homeless could be found. But there weren’t any enumerators available.

Around 6am, NGO sources said they received permission from Dr Mahendra Singnapurkar, Census officer for the ward, to conclude the exercise. “There were so many homeless people right before them on both sides of LJ Road, but they weren’t interested,” a source said.

Another problem was the difference in the definition of ‘homeless’. While one enumerator refused to count a Gujarati family’s children who were picked up by the police a few days back, another insisted on getting the details of a family whose seven children were in its native place in Bihar.

Rajan Parab, a circle officer, refused to count a person because: “He had a Rs2,000 cell phone with him. How can he be a homeless person?”

The NGOs had also urged Census officials not to conduct the enumeration on just one night. But the request was dismissed.