Kathmandu, June 11: Officials have re-scheduled collection of census figures for the 10th national census following the unexpected carnage at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace killing or injuring 14 members and relatives of the royal family including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya on June 1.
The second phase of the census was launched in only 30 of the 75 administrative districts Sunday with the slogan ” No Omission, No Repetition” although the previous scheduled dates were for 12 days from June 10 to 21.

Data will be collected in the remaining districts from June 14 to 26. Nepal is in mourning since June 1 and Monday marks the 11th day of the assassination of King Birendra; government offices have remained closed since that fateful day and will remain closed most of this week as well. Three eyewitnesses said Crown Prince Dipendra started the killing spree and later shot himself.

Training for  20,000 enumerators could not be completed in nearly half of the districts because of the national mourning, Deputy Director of the Central Bureau of Statistics, Radha Krishna GC said. Government had earlier announced June 22 as Census Day and declared the day a national holiday to mark the completion of the 10th census. Some 27,000 employees, 20 percent of them women, have been mobilized for the Rs.280 million effort conducted once every 10 years.

The first phase of listing households nation-wide has been completed. Maoists have obstructed data collection in districts controlled by rebels in far west Nepal. Nepal’s current population is estimated at 23 million. neplnews.com br