DHAKA: The National Population and Household Census will begin in March next year, this time using hi-tech methodologies, to update country’s demographic scenario.
The census will be conducted using up-to-date technology with an aim to get quick and accurate results.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has prepared 3.3 lakh digital maps and divided the country into different enumeration areas.
Shajahan Ali Mollah, Director-General of BBS, told banglanews24.com.bd that they will also use modern intellectual character reader (ICR) software for processing collected data and preparing census report.
He said, “Census report this time will be more reliable as we are using latest technology which will halve the time required for preparing census report in traditional method.”
Preliminary report, incorporating the total number of population, under different heads like gender etc. would be published within two months after completing data collection, he added.
A total of 27 reports relating to population and households will be prepared based on the census.
Shajahan Ali Mollah said an army of around 3.5 lakh people will be engaged for conducting the census, who will work for five days in March.
Earlier, the census conducted in the post-independence Bangladesh took over four years to prepare the full reports. This time around, the BBS would be able to do it within two years.
He said the enumeration zoning has been done splitting the country into 3.3 lakh areas using aerial photography of geographical information system (GIS). Every home of each enumeration area would be visited by the enumerators intensively for data collection to ensure that no one is left out of the headcount.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), USAID, UN Statistics Division and US Census Bureau are providing financial, technical and technological assistances for the census.
The DG of BBS said intellectual character reader (ICR) software would be used to read and identify collected data by enumerators.
Previously, BBS used OMR (Optical Mark Reader) and OCR (Optical Character Reader), which could detect only mark and character separately. ICR can identify both the mark and the character.
Non-governmental organizations will get responsibilities to check and crosscheck errors, if there be any.
The data collection would be carried out manually, a BBS official said.
BDST: 1950 HRS. AUG 13, 2010
