PRAYAGRAJ, June 17 -- House listing under the ongoing Census 2027 exercise is nearing completion in Prayagraj district, with officials identifying around 12.12 lakh residential units so far. Based on the preliminary enumeration, the district's population has been estimated at around 70 lakh, confirm district officials. The house-listing exercise began on May 22 and was carried out across the district in a phased manner. Officials completed the fieldwork on Tuesday and are now undertaking a final verification of the data, as a few days still remain before the closure of the exercise. According to census officials, 12.12 lakh houses have been listed in the district. In comparison, the 2011 Census had recorded around nine lakh houses and a population of 59 lakh. This indicates an increase of nearly three lakh houses and about 11 lakh people over the past 15 years. Officials had earlier estimated that the district's population could be around 80 lakh. However, the current estimate stands at 70 lakh based on information collected during the house-listing phase, in which enumerators asked residents about the number of people living in each household. With four days still left in the house-listing schedule, authorities are carrying out a fresh cross-verification of the figures to ensure that no houses or residents have been left out. "The house-listing work under the Census has been completed. The district has around 12.12 lakh houses and an estimated population of 70 lakh. The figures are being cross-verified once again, and the final numbers will be known after the verification process is completed," said Manish Kumar Verma, district magistrate of Prayagraj. The ongoing exercise constitutes the first phase of Census 2027. The second and main phase of the census will be conducted in February 2027, when detailed demographic information, including age-wise population data, will be collected. Enumeration in military establishments and restricted areas will also be carried out during that phase, which may lead to a marginal increase in the final population count....