Booth-level officers involved in West Bengal’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are set to take out a protest march in Kolkata on Monday.
Since the SIR drive began, BLOs posted across several districts have been operating “under unprecedented and inhuman pressure”, the committee has alleged.
A functionary explained that the officers have been assigned tasks to be completed within an unusually compressed schedule.
Booth-level officers involved in West Bengal’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are set to take out a protest march in Kolkata on Monday, voicing concerns over what they describe as excessive workload and “systemic lapses” in the process.
According to a representative of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee, the organisation coordinating the agitation, members intend to submit a formal representation to the Election Commission during the demonstration.
Since the SIR drive began, BLOs posted across several districts have been operating “under unprecedented and inhuman pressure”, the committee has alleged. The group plans to march from College Square in north Kolkata to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in central Kolkata, seeking urgent intervention and remedial measures from the Commission.
Support for the march is expected from para-teachers, college faculty members and educators from a range of institutions, the committee claimed.
A functionary explained that the officers have been assigned tasks to be completed within an unusually compressed schedule. “We have been asked to complete tasks within a short period of time, but such works usually take more than two years,” the person said.
The SIR’s door-to-door verification began on November 4 and is slated to continue until December 4, with draft electoral rolls scheduled for release on December 9.
Another member of the committee stated that the strain of the workload has caused numerous health issues among BLOs and alleged that “the stress has led to multiple cases of illness, and at least two BLOs died by suicide”.
The committee warned that if the Election Commission does not revise deadlines or address the grievances raised by BLOs, it will move towards an extended protest programme.
Meanwhile, the BLO Oikya Mancha, another organisation representing booth-level officers, has raised concerns over the digitisation of enumeration documents and called for additional personnel to ease the burden.
With PTI inputs
