Jammu, Oct 6: The population enumeration exercise in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh has been successfully completed under the ongoing national Census programme, with officials crediting the cooperation of local residents, security forces and field staff for the smooth conduct of the exercise in some of the country’s most challenging terrains.
Speaking to the media, Director Census, Amit Sharma, said the special drive was undertaken to ensure that residents living in remote, high-altitude and snow-bound regions were covered before the onset of winter, when many areas become inaccessible due to heavy snowfall. He said the exercise was completed successfully with active support from local communities, administrative teams and security agencies.
According to Sharma, the special census drive was conducted from September 1 to September 30. The exercise achieved *100 per cent coverage across the Union Territory of Ladakh, while population enumeration was successfully completed in identified snow-bound areas spread across **16 districts of Jammu and Kashmir*.
He said a five-day revisional round was also carried out from October 1 to October 5 to verify the data and include any households or individuals who may have been left out during the main exercise.
The exercise was particularly significant as many remote villages in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh remain cut off for months during winter, making it essential to complete the enumeration process before the arrival of heavy snowfall.
Sharma said special arrangements were also made for the enumeration of defence and paramilitary personnel. Dedicated teams were trained in advance and special paper schedules were used for data collection in view of security sensitivities. He added that the exercise involving security forces was also completed within the stipulated timeframe.
The Director Census said the collected data would now be digitised by the concerned security agencies and transferred to the Census Directorate’s central database in a secure and encrypted format, ensuring confidentiality and data security.
During the second phase of population enumeration, citizens were asked to respond to a detailed questionnaire comprising 40 questions covering various demographic, social and economic parameters.
Sharma said the census would play a crucial role in ensuring that welfare and development schemes of the Union government reach every corner of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He said accurate and updated population data would help policymakers identify the needs of people living in remote and underserved areas, enabling better planning and more effective implementation of government programmes.
Sharma said people across the snow-bound regions extended full cooperation to the census teams and willingly shared the required information, enabling officials to complete the exercise despite geographical and weather-related challenges.
Appreciating the coordinated efforts of the public, administrative teams and security forces, he described the timely completion of the exercise as a significant achievement and a major milestone in ensuring comprehensive population coverage across the Himalayan region ahead of the winter season.
