THANE: Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde appealed to citizens to voluntarily participate in the self-enumeration process using the specially created QR code and cooperate with the administration. Shinde was speaking at the launch of the first phase of the Census 2027 “Self-Enumeration” process at the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters on Friday morning, where a QR code was developed by the civic body for the exercise. Mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar, Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao, District Collector Dr Shrikrishna Panchal and Deputy Mayor Krishna Patil, among others, were present at the event. The first phase of Census 2027, starting with the “Self-Enumeration” process, was launched on May 1, 2026, and will remain active until May 15, 2026, officials said. Shinde personally completed the self-enumeration using the QR code and encouraged those present to do the same, following which Deputy Director of the Census Directorate Ramesh Bhosale presented him with a memento. “The government is fully committed to the development and welfare of every individual in the state, and to achieve this, reliable and accurate data is the most effective tool,” he said. A selfie point created by the municipal corporation to raise awareness about the census was also inaugurated. To promote awareness, the Central Government has created mascots, “Vikas” (Development) and “Pragati” (Progress). Officials said a help desk has been set up at the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters to assist citizens. “Citizens should cooperate with the enumerators who will be visiting households and provide accurate information. The data collected will be kept confidential,” said Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao.
