A ‘smart’ survey initiative of the AP government landed a lower rung official in trouble. As the part of the smart pulse survey programme, an official ‘unhesitantly’ asked Haseena, a Muslim homemaker whether her family owns pigs. Haseena didn’t take it well. Soon women in the neighbourhood gathered at Haseena’s house protesting against Mallikarjuna, the surveyor, and accused that he was seeking “irrational” data. He was then confined to a room in the local panchayat office.
The bizarre incident took place at T Kuntlapalli village of Obuladevaracheruvu mandal in the backward district of Anantapur in Rayalaseema region.
Tehsildar Anjaneyulu, block development officer Naga Raju and mandal praja parishad president Ismail rushed to the village. They spoke to minorities welfare minister Palle Raghunath Reddy, who intervened and pacified the angry villagers. After which Mallikarjuna was ‘freed’.
The local police said no case has been registered.
The AP government has taken up an ambitious programme, smart pulse survey, to gather comprehensive information of all the people in the state. The government plans to devise socio-economic programmes based on the data it generates from the survey.
Sourced from TNN, Featured image courtesy: animalia-life.com
