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J&K government to go ahead with census despite Hizbul threat

The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to hold the second phase of census from September 11 according to schedule, despite threats by the Hizbul Mujahideen to use force to foil the process.

The preparations for conducting the second phase from September 11 to 30 were reviewed at a high-level meeting in Srinagar on Monday evening, an official spokesman said.

More than 22,000 enumerators have been trained to conduct the census operation. The first phase of census was done in May and June.

The meeting also deliberated on different issues of the census operations, including release of budgetary grants and overall security arrangements, the spokesman said.

The Hizbul Mujahideen has threatened to use force to foil the second phase of census.

According to the outfit, there is no possibility of a fair and credible census in Kashmir when a large section of the of the Valley's population has migrated to other parts of India and when tens of thousands have either gone underground as a result of alleged security force excesses or have crossed over to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. In such circumstances conducting a census is nothing but a conspiracy against the majority community, it says.

The Hizbul has appealed to the people not to cooperate with the census programme, but at the same time also asked the government employees to keep away from the exercise.

Census was last held in Kashmir in the early 1980s. No census was held thereafter because of militancy.

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