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Kathmandu Wednesday May 16, 2001 Jestha 03, 2058.
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Hear minority
voice
Finally, the government has
heard the voice of disabled people to include them in the tenth census that begins in
early June. How seriously the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has deemed it is another
thing, but this census is undoubtedly an important approach towards introducing new
development measures and checking the alarming population explosion. Also, the census that
comes after every ten years is an exercise of our constitutional provision. The CBS,
responsible for conducting every census in the country, has not enumerated disabled people
since it began conducting the census back in 1911. However, the CBS has realized the fact
that the head count of disabled people is also essential to acquire authentic data on the
growth of population. This apart, the government has not come up with measures to uplift
the disabled people. Therefore, their inclusion becomes all the more important to
accelerate social development, the bedrock of economic welfare.
The census of 1981 included a
disabled column only to be deleted when a few enumerators opposed it. The ninth census did
not even realize whether the disabled community existed in the country. However, the World
Health Organization (WHO) states that of the 22 million population, 10 to 12 percent are
incapacitated people in one form or another within the country. Unfortunately, that was
never brought to the notice of the people nor did the CBS disclose this figure. The CBS
deputed a few untrained personnel with ineffective questionnaires, and conducted the
census as a mechanical exercise of the constitutional provision. Given a poor
communication network, rugged terrain, not to mention poor publicity and follow-up, it was
natural to raise doubts over the accuracy of the previous CBS census. With a scientific
and systematic approach, the census failed to embrace the entire population.
The two-week long census 2001
begins on June 8, and ends by the 20th of that month. The CBS has yet to disclose how it
is going to specify religion, the number of dependents, status of minorities, disabled
people and occupation. To conduct the census, it has however deputed over five thousand
supervisors, most of them secondary school teachers. Besides, it has selected 20,000
enumerators among primary school teachers. But has the CBS paid attention to the
complaints that it failed to enumerate properly people from minority communities in the
past? The CBS has neither addressed these complaints nor has it included more enumerators
from minority communities. In the last head count survey, the CBS left out five percent of
the total population due to poor communications and lack of follow- up measures. This not
only projected inaccurate data but also undermined the representation of the minority in
decision-making and development planning. Thus it is high time the CBS treated the head
count of 2001 seriously so that the development strategies will not overlook the minority
and the underprivileged of society.
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