UP BLO Dies Due To 'Work-Related Stress', Third BLO Death in Three Days

A booth level officer (BLO) in Sikandra Rao town in Hathras district died on Tuesday morning after he collapsed at his apartment, with his family reporting that he had been under significant work-related stress, officials said.

The deceased, Kamlakant Sharma (40), a native of the Brahmanpuri region of Sikandra Rao, served as an assistant teacher at the Composite School Navli Lalpur while also handling duties as a BLO.

According to family members, he suddenly felt dizzy while drinking tea after going down from the upper floor of his residence and collapsed.

He was rushed for treatment but died on the way, officials said. His body has been sent for a post-mortem.

Sharma’s son, Vinayak, said his father had been distressed for several days due to the workload related to BLO duties. “He came downstairs around 7 am to have tea and suddenly fainted. He passed away while being taken to the hospital,” he said.

Soon after learning of the loss, District Magistrate Atul Vats paid a visit to the grieving family.

Terming the death “unfortunate”, the DM said the specific cause would be apparent only after the post-mortem. He added that the administration would consider providing a job to Sharma’s wife, who has completed the intermediate exams.

“He was a sincere employee and performed his duties well,” the DM said.

This is at least the third death in the UP in the past three days.

On November 29, a woman BLO died of heart arrest in the Bijnor district. Shobharani, according to her spouse, was a diabetes patient. In the Mohalla Badwan, Dhampur area, she was assigned as the BLO of booth number 97.

Sarvesh Singh, a 46-year-old booth-level officer (BLO), was discovered hanging at his Moradabad district house on November 30. He was assigned the duties of a BLO on October 7. Reportedly, it was his first time working as a BLO. Sarvesh admitted to feeling suffocated and said there wasn't enough time for the task he had been assigned in a suicide note.