Just days into the caste survey in Karnataka, allegations have surfaced that technical glitches are hindering the efforts of enumerators. The Karnataka State Government Employees' Association (KEA) has appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take steps to rectify the errors in the app before proceeding with the survey that aims to record the socio-economic status of all castes in Karnataka.
The fault lies with the mobile app provided for social and educational survey work, according to reports.
According to the enumerators, the house number displayed in the app for the survey is often wrong. This issue persists even after the survey app has been updated to the latest version, according to local media.
Even after uploading the information, the pop-up stating the exercise is complete does not appear. The enumerators said they found it challenging to finish surveying over 150 houses within the stipulated period, as it was difficult to find the houses.
In the northern Karnataka city of Kalaburghi , the enumerators gathered in front of the Taluk office, protesting against the issues. “We are prepared to go into the field, but we are being treated like test subjects,” they alleged, adding that they have to ask around 60 questions to each household.
"Without conducting caste survey why are you sticking notice that says, survey is done.. who are you? Where is your id card?.."
— Karthik Reddy (@bykarthikreddy) July 2, 2025
Residents ask who those kids were.. For that the kid says.. I'm her son.. came to click pictures.."
- Karnataka caste census! pic.twitter.com/FsGqOw7iq3
“After this time-consuming process, all our efforts go to waste when the error message pops up. The government has launched the survey without proper preparation,” they alleged and demanded that the government solve the issues and conduct a test run before sending them to households.
KEA president C.S. Shadakshari submitted a petition in this regard, stating that the enumerators were not given proper training. “Many enumerators do not have knowledge of using smartphones. They have not been given proper training. There is a problem with mobile internet in many places, both in rural and urban areas. Many times, the house owners cannot or won’t provide an OTP for verification after uploading the information. The app does not provide options for Aadhaar OTP, adding new members, or dropping them,” the association claimed.
The employees have asked the authorities to provide them with phones and tablets with proper internet connections to carry out the survey.
