The Social and Educational survey in Karnataka gathered significant momentum on Saturday, a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s review meeting, in which he directed officials to achieve at least 10% of the overall target daily.Entering its sixth day, the survey showed progress across districts, with enumerators almost doubling their coverage of households and addressing early technical challenges.According to official data, as of Saturday evening (5.30 p.m.), 12.8 lakh households had been surveyed since the exercise began on September 22. On Saturday alone, enumerators managed to cover 8,18,964 households, accounting for over 37% of the day’s target of 22,05,135 households. Overall till Friday, enumerators had covered 4,68,133 households.On Saturday among the districts, Belagavi topped the coverage with 54,506 households, followed by Tumkuru (47,772), Mandya (38,816), Haveri (39,323), Davangere (38,423) and Hassan (35,751). Bengaluru Urban (8,104) and Kodagu (9,171) recorded the lowest coverage on Saturday.Strict monitoringOfficials noted that the initial days of the survey were hampered by technical issues with the mobile-based application. These glitches affected field operations, delaying household enumeration in several districts.However, by Friday, most technical hurdles had been resolved, enabling smooth survey operations from Saturday onwards. In Shivamogga, for instance, officials confirmed that survey work had picked up considerably since Thursday evening. The Deputy Commissioner of the district suspended a nodal officer who went on leave without informing senior authorities, signalling that strict monitoring was in place.In Dakshina Kannada, under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, enumerators began field work by 7 a.m. and continued until 8.30 p.m. The sixth version of the survey app was provided on Saturday morning, and officials ensured that UHID-based household lists were made available to all enumerators. Secretary of Backward Classes Welfare Tulasi Maddineni instructed enumerators to survey a minimum of 150 households in their designated areas in coordination with peers, helping address earlier coordination gaps.Steady progressThe Kittur Karnataka region also reported steady progress, with most technical issues resolved. In Belagavi, around 53,000 families were surveyed on Saturday. Zilla Panchayat CEO Rahul Shinde accompanied officials to households, interacting with enumerators and resolving minor technical problems on the spot. In Uttara Kannada, 44,464 families had been covered, with 61% of the district’s target achieved. Similarly, Dharwad recorded coverage of over 32,000 families on Saturday, bringing the cumulative total to 50,000.Other districts, including Haveri, Gadag, Vijayapura, and Bagalkot, also reported improved progress as enumerators adapted to updated tools and processes. Officials emphasised that close supervision by senior officers had contributed to faster survey coverage and efficient resolution of technical issues.Voluntary declarationThe State Information Department, in a press release issued from Mangaluru, encouraged citizens to submit voluntary declarations online at https://kscbcselfdeclaration.karnataka.gov.in and participate in the survey without waiting for enumerators to visit households.Published - September 27, 2025 09:31 pm IST