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'We are on the verge of breakdown': BLOs protest outside CEO office in Kolkata, seek further extension of SIR deadline

Amid the rising number of suicides and deaths allegedly due to work pressure during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, hundreds of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on Thursday protested outside the office of the state's Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata. Breaching police barricades, a group of over 400 BLOs marched towards the office of CEO Manoj Agarwal and staged a sit-in demanding further extension of the enumeration deadline of the SIR exercise by at least three months, citing inhuman work-related stress. We are working round-the-clock and are on the verge of a breakdown. We have to attend to our duties in schools, remain up all night to digitise the enumeration forms. Despite our repeated appeals for deadline extension, the EC is not responsive. They are issuing fresh notifications and orders over WhatsApp every day, said BLO Reba Muhuri. We demand immediate extension of the SIR deadlines for submitting forms, and preparing draft rolls not by a week, but by three months at least, if not six months, she added. Sasanka Pal, another forum member and a state government employee, maintained that although he was not a BLO, he joined the protests to express his solidarity with them. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is arm twisting the EC to enforce the BJP's diktat for completing the SIR before assembly polls, which has triggered so much pressure on the BLOs and Booth Level Assistants (BLAs) of political parties, he said. The BLOs, accompanied by the family members of four officials who lost their lives allegedly due to SIR work pressure also demanded adequate compensation to the next of kin of the deceased. The protest march was conducted under the banner of the TMC-leaning 'BLO Aikya Manch' (BLO Unity Forum). The protesters held a march from the Sealdah Station in north Kolkata to the CEO's office in BBD Bag, where it merged with a section of aggrieved BLOs, who are already holding a sit-in before the premises for the past 10 days. This is the second such protest at the CEO's office in 10 days despite the Election Commission directing Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma to ensure safety and security of officers and staff at the office of the CEO. An EC official said the CEO's office was yet to receive any reports from District Election Officers (DEOs) on the alleged deaths of BLOs due to work-related stress. We cannot comment on the issue till there is confirmation that those deaths are connected to the SIR exercise, the Deputy CEO-ranked official said. The EC has extended the deadline of the enumeration phase of SIR, and the subsequent publication of draft and final rolls by seven days, but the opposition parties and the BLOs have pointed out that the time is too short to complete the job. Following the EC's extension of deadlines, the house-to-house enumeration phase would conclude on December 11, followed by the publication of draft electoral rolls on December 16. The final rolls are scheduled to be published on February 14 next year, after completion of the claims and objections period, and the notice phase of hearing and verification of voters. (With inputs from PTI) SC directs states to deploy additional staff for SIR duty; passes slew of orders to ease pressure on BLOs