In Bengaluru, former BJP leader C.T. Ravi is calling out Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the troubled caste census rollout. As a current member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, Ravi wonders if the CM really gets the headaches facing teacher enumerators after reports of threats against them for delays in the Socio-Economic and Academic survey.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ravi highlighted the government’s push. “The Chief Minister threatened action if the caste census isn’t done right,” he said. “But what has Siddaramaiah done to fix the real struggles these teachers face?”
Ravi pointed to tech glitches plaguing the survey app used by enumerators in Karnataka. “Data won’t upload properly, OTPs for verification keep failing, and house serial numbers are all over the place—one home shows up here, the next pops up miles away,” he explained. Teachers from the same school are often sent to far-off spots, adding to the chaos.
“If you talk to these teachers, you’ll hear the full story,” Ravi added. He mentioned sending a letter to the CM detailing these caste census problems in Karnataka.
Drawing from his experience, Ravi stressed the need for better prep in such a huge undertaking. “You can’t just dive in without training or a test run. A pilot survey in a few areas could have spotted issues early and fixed them,” he said. Instead, no pilot happened, training fell short, and now officials are issuing threats rather than solutions.
Other hurdles make the job tougher, especially in remote hill stations and forested areas where network signals are spotty. Enumerators must ask 60 detailed questions per household, but many families lose patience midway. “The app crashes with ‘upload failed’ errors, and in some spots, female teachers heading out alone raises safety worries,” Ravi noted.
The time drain is real too—each household entry takes 1.5 to 2 hours, leading to eye strain, mental stress, and even health complaints among the team. Not everyone handling the Karnataka survey is tech-savvy, with some struggling just to use the mobile app. For a family of four or five, it can stretch to 2.5 hours.
Ravi figures enumerators can realistically cover only six to eight homes a day. “Extra assignments need a serious rethink,” he urged, along with fixing those persistent OTP issues to smooth out the caste census process.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
