HYDERABAD: A segment of the National Sample Survey’s (NSS) 78th round being conducted in the city on Wednesday was met with apprehension from residents who have been on their toes since the controversy regarding National Population Register (NPR) came to the fore. When surveyors reached Old Malakpet area in the city, locals opposed them saying that there was already a “bad atmosphere in the country due to CAA-NRC-NPR”.
“You very well know the current atmosphere prevailing in the country. Do you not see the news? Who will give you information at such a time?” a resident asked surveyors in a video being circulated on social media. While the surveyors explained that it was not related to NPR, the man was adamant in his denial to cooperate. “There are protests everywhere. It will take two to three months for things to become normal,” the resident is heard saying in the video.
Confirming the incident to Express, G Lakshminarayana, joint director in the State government’s Directorate of Economic and Statistics department, who is also the Chief Planning Officer, Hyderabad district, said, “This is not related to CAA-NRC-NPR. We were collecting data on ‘domestic tourism expenditure’ and ‘multiple indicator survey’ under the NSS 78th round survey. It is a demographic survey, so we ask questions regarding the family.”
Lakshminarayana said the survey would be beneficial for citizens as the Central government identifies and formulates various schemes based on the data. He was contacted by a resident in the area, who told him not to carry out such surveys. “I called the surveyors back after that,” he said.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan said that locals are afraid and requested the Hyderabad Collector to stop all such surveys. Earlier, in a separate incident, residents in Abids, Golconda and Musheerabad opposed health officials when they asked about residential details during an immunisation drive. Residents accused officials of supporting the Centre’s CAA and NRC plans, and secretly collecting personal information under the garb of public welfare schemes.