Bengal SIR: BLOs making last-minute rounds to houses to ensure error-free electoral rolls

Kolkata, Dec 9 (PTI) With two days left for submitting and uploading enumeration forms as part of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, booth-level officers (BLOs) on Tuesday went around various localities to identify those who are either missing or shifted to other places, or dead.

Notably, over 7.66 crore enumeration forms were distributed across the state since the beginning of the SIR process last month.

This comes to 99.99 per cent of the 7,66,27,406 electorate covered under the form distribution drive by the Election Commission, an official said Tuesday.

BLOs are now trying to make sure that every missing voter or deceased, or duplicate one is identified.

"I have already sent the list of absentee voters to my booth supervisor for submitting to the electoral registration officer (ERO)," said Surojit Basu, a BLO in Tollygunge assembly area.

He had 120 forms that included absentees, dead and shifted voters and duplicate ones.

"About 10 per cent of forms are of voters who could not be traced despite multiple attempts. I will mark them absent," he said.

In the last few days, most BLOs visited voters aged 85 and above to cross-check and assess their health in order to know whether they wish to utilise the facility of casting their votes from home.

Sunanda Haldar, a BLO in the Jodhpur Park area, said, "There are 650 voters in my section, with a few over the age of 85. According to Election Commission instructions, I am on the last leg of visiting their residences and verifying their documents." The BLO in Tollygunge said he visited the residences of the elderly persons since Saturday for a final verification and updated data, following the last EC guidelines.

The BLOs expressed confidence that in the next two days, the forms will be submitted.

A total of 7,64,44,281 forms have been digitised, which is 99.75 per cent of the total distributed forms, the official said. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said, "We are confident about wrapping up the enumeration form distribution and their digitisation by the December 11 deadline. The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16, as scheduled." He said BLOs are busy making last-minute rounds to cross-check the exact number and present condition of elderly voters. PTI SUS BDC