Once Forbidden Zone, Gadchiroli Leads Census With 99.5% Entries

Nagpur: Gadchiroli, once a hotbed of Maoist insurgency and one of Maharashtra's most forested and geographically remote districts, emerged as the state's frontrunner in the Census 2027 house-listing drive, marking 99.5% entries against the state average of 86.83%, district administration officials said on Wednesday.Only 14 house-listing blocks or 0.54% work, is pending even as the first phase is yet to conclude. In comparison, the highest pending rate in Maharashtra starts with Brihanmumbai with 43.08% pendency, Pune Municipal Corporation (38.24%), Nandurbar (37.01%), Latur (35.74%) and Thane (28.05%), as per data shared by Gadchiroli district administration.Enumerators fanned out across the remote district even to distant areas, once part of Red corridor where even 2-wheelers struggle to reach. Many times, enumerators, majority of whom are teachers, said they leave the bike nearby and trek up to the isolated villages on hills.For Gadchiroli, it's crucial entire exercise gets over before onset of monsoon. The lone bridge connecting Bhamragarh taluka to mainland gets submerged and villages are marooned for weeks. This was the reason that prompted the district administration to push for completion of the Census process.Gadchiroli district collector Avishyant Panda appealed citizens to cooperate with enumerators in final stretch of the first-phase exercise, which runs till June 14. Panda said, "Census is the foundation of the nation's development. Every citizen must cooperate and provide accurate information. Any evasion amounts to obstructing fulfilment of national duty, drawing penal action."Panda said the house-listing exercise was being conducted under Census Act, 1948, which makes it mandatory for every citizen to furnish data that is kept confidential and used for statistical, administrative and development planning, he said.