Month on, Panjab University’s population clock yet to start ticking again
PRC director Kumool Abbi said they have written to the company that installed the clock, seeking a specialised technician to fix the wiring and look into the possibility of weather-proofing the machine
The digital population clock installed at the T-Point near the centre for distance learning and online education at Panjab University has been dysfunctional for the last month.
The clock display went blank in the last week of December 2023, but has not been fixed yet.
Installed amid much fanfare by the population research centre in July last year, the clock was inaugurated by Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit.
Speaking about the issue, officials said the clock’s wiring has been damaged by squirrels in the winter. They said the clock was set up right in the middle of dense canopies, but the damage had not been anticipated. The fall in temperature also took a toll and the authorities are working on fixing the clock now, they added.
PRC director Kumool Abbi said they have written to the company that installed the clock, seeking a specialised technician to fix the wiring and look into the possibility of weather-proofing the machine.
The population clock would display dual population statistics, both for India as well as Chandigarh. It is funded by the Union ministry of health and family welfare and total cost of installation of the population was ₹4.03 lakh.
A digital population clock is used to estimate real-time population size of a geographical/ administrative area based on scientific assumptions about birth, death and net migration rates.