Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to postpone the scheduled census and related activities in the country in view of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
In a letter to the PM, Naveen said that the states have been asked to complete the first-phase of house-listing, housing census and updating the Population Register in 45 days, between April 1 and September 30.
“1 am apprised of the fact that 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors in the country will
be involved to collect data by visiting each household during first phase. This has to be preceded by elaborate training, awareness campaign and related activities,” he wrote.
Amid the global coronavirus scare, the Chief Minister said that all efforts of the state machinery are directed towards containing the spread of the deadly virus. “As mobilisation for census and other concerned activities shall pose a great risk for field functionaries and
people as well, I would rather suggest to postpone the scheduled census and related activities,” he added.
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