Hyderabad:
Hyderabad's roads were deserted today as a Rs 20-crore survey ordered by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao or KCR was conducted in Telangana, India's newest state.
It is a public holiday in the entire state, with schools and offices closed so that people are home as nearly four lakh people go door to door to conduct the 'Intensive Household Survey', which the state government says will identify beneficiaries of welfare schemes.
Petrol pumps, hotels, cinema halls and all other business establishments are also closed. Emergency services are exempted, but a pregnant woman was reportedly turned away from a government hospital in Mehboobnagar because there was no doctor to attend to her.
Some of the global information technology or IT companies that function out of Hyderabad have remained open and the government said it had no objection to that as long as their employees participated in the survey.
Shankar, a chartered account said the multinational company he works in has a holiday to ensure that its 1200 employees can participate in the survey. "It is very good for the government to have accurate information, but it must ensure security of data," he said.
People have been worried about the details they would be asked to share. A man who did not want to be named said, "There is voluntary disclosure. But today if I don't disclose, for instance, land that I own, will they say tomorrow that it doesn't belong to me?"
Hira Singh, a retired government employee said his fears were allayed once he filled the form. "They are only asking for the Aadhaar card, property if any, electricity and water connection," he said, calling it a "bold move" by the KCR government as it was trying to week out illegal ration cards, controlled by powerful vested interests.
In Hyderabad's Ambedkar Colony, people were swarming around officials who had come to the area for the survey, to ensure they were not missed out in the survey. Many are hoping that by telling the government what they don't have, they may become entitled to certain benefits. Rajesh, an autorickshaw driver, said, "My father lost a leg in an accident and will hopefully start getting a disability pension. And hopefully we will now get our own house."
BJP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy said he would not participate in the survey because he does not "seek any benefits from the government."