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10-yearly snapshot rolled down the road
View(s):By Niranjala Ariyawansha
The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) said that the 2023/24 national census, which was scheduled for September will have to be postponed further due to the presidential election.
Responding to an inquiry by the Sunday Times, the department’s Director General Ms. Anoja Seneviratne said the census will be held after the presidential election,
“Carrying out a census during an election period is a difficult task. Our department is carrying out a totally independent census and as a result, engaging in a census during the time of an election could cause various problems regarding its independence. Someone can say that we are biased towards a certain faction and also information gathered during the census can be politically manipulated. So, to ensure the integrity of the census, we decided to conduct it after the election is completed,” Ms. Seneviratne said.
Training sessions in progress for census officers. Pix by Akila Jayawardena
She said census officials are now being trained.
She emphasised: “This national census is very important for many things. During the past number of years, the population structure has changed. However, people could believe, since they cannot see that they receive a direct benefit from such a census, that providing information for this is pointless. Nevertheless, everything including the country’s economic development policies, regional planning and university research are carried out based on the national census by our department. This is very important to the entire population. I would like to request that, when officers visit homes, to support us by giving correct information.”
She emphasised that completing the national census this year is vital.
An initial report will be issued one month after completing the census and the final report will be a few months later. Thematic reports will be issued based on the final report.
The census, once every 10 years, was scheduled for 2022 but due to the coronavirus pandemic and the economic collapse, it was postponed.
A national census was carried out last, in 2012. It excluded the North and East although the war had ended.
However, this time, the census will cover the entire country.
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