RAWALPINDI: The census was stopped for a few days in Bokra when locals said their area did not fall under the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) limits and that teams from Islamabad should conduct the census in the area.

Cantonment officials and elected member Malik Sajid went to settle the issue when more than 100 Bokra locals gathered on the main road.

The RCB tried to convince them that the area fell under cantonment limits and decided to halt the process for a few days and to hold the counting of the population and house listing at the end.

Additional Deputy Commissioner General Nazia Parveen Sudhan told Dawn the issue of the limits of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were resolved before the census was started and trained enumerators had been informed of the limits.

She said no serious issues were reported with the district administration regarding problems faced by census teams and that the district administration was monitoring their work and solving problems as they arose.

Ms Sudhan said house listing will be completed in the district by April 27 and head count will be started April 28. Transportation for the teams has been provided, she added.

When asked, RCB spokesperson Qaiser Mehmood said a problem had started in Bokra but it was a misunderstanding because the area falls under RCB limits.

“Civic facilities like water are being provided by the RCB, which also constructed the roads and streets a few years ago. The area is part of NA-54 and Ward 10 of RCB,” he explained.

The area had fallen under RCB limits in the 1998 census as well and the Naseerabad Police Station of Rawalpindi deals with crime in the area.

He said RCB officials try to convince people that census blocks were already defined and they had to provide information to census teams from Rawalpindi. If they have objections, they can contact the court.

The census has been stopped in the area for a few days and the team will complete it at the end.

“We held meetings with the residents with help from MNA Malik Abrar and RCB’s Malik Sajjad and the issue will be solved in two days,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2017