Premium

‘Koi kachcha kaam nahin karna hai’: From a village to a condo, a day with two BLOs in Greater Noida knee-deep in SIR work

Since November 4, school teachers have been distributing and collecting forms for the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. They are bombarded by questions, and they are answering the ones they can.

7 min readNoidaUpdated: Nov 24, 2025 05:27 PM IST

One form and many questions: From a village to a condo, a day with two BLOs in Gr Noida

BLO Suman Lata in Tughlaqpur. (EXpress photo by Neetika Jha)

One morning last week, primary school teacher Suman Lata walked along the narrow, dusty lanes of Greater Noida’s Tughlaqpur village, going from one single-storey house to the next. She carried a black bag with “Bharat Nirvachan Aayog Vishesh Pragaadh Punarikshan” stamped on it.

Suman is a Booth Level Officer (BLO), given the job of distributing and collecting enumeration forms for the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that began in UP – and eight other states and three Union Territories – on November 4.

From door to door

Suman’s day began at 8.30 am. She went to her school to mark her attendance before heading to the village. On the day The Indian Express walked with her, Suman was collecting a bunch of the 625 forms that she had distributed earlier – forms that most electors could barely understand, but which they were required to fill in.

“I have to help them trace and match their and their parents’ details with the voters’ list from 2003,” Suman said. This information, which very few can recall, is central to determining what must be filled, left blank, or corrected in the SIR forms.

The ECI has set January 1, 2026 as the qualifying date for SIR, and filled-in forms must be collected by December 4. The draft electoral roll will be published on December 9. “I have told them to complete the forms and give them to me at the earliest,” Suman said.

BLO Khushboo at a Greater Noida high-rise. (Express photo by Saman Husain)

A local anganwadi worker is helping Suman. “She knows many families, and she has helped me identify 10 of them today. It is not easy to find the homes of people when addresses are not clear,” Suman said.

Sitting on a cot in the local anganwadi centre, 30-year-old Aman Kaur struggled with the form.

Story continues below this ad

“No, no, you do not have to write in this column. That is why I had sent you the list. Check carefully before writing,” Suman chided her gently, applying whitener over the writing.

“We will look for father’s details… You are only 30, so you could not have voted in 2003. You have to show that at least one among your father, mother, maternal or paternal grandparents voted here,” she explained.

It was the same in almost every home – Suman asked them questions, explained things to them, and helped them fill in their forms. In between, she took calls on her mobile phone from others with their own sets of problems. Someone was panicking because they had different dates of birth on their Aadhaar and Voter ID, and Suman had to remind a daughter-in-law that it was the details of her parents that were needed, not her in-laws’.

On her earlier visit, Suman had left behind two copies of the SIR form with each elector. Kuldeep Singh told her he had lost them both. “I can’t remember where I kept them. Will you give me another form?”

Story continues below this ad

Suman told Kuldeep to look harder, and moved to the next house, where 39-year-old Shiv Kumar demanded to know why he had to go through all of this. “You cannot vote if you do not fill this form,” she told him.

Confusion, questions

At 10 am in the third-floor clubhouse of Purvanchal Royal City housing society in Greater Noida, the blue leatherette couches were full. The BLO, also a government school teacher like Suman, sat at a table, answering questions from residents, many of whom clutched old documents.

This BLO, Khushboo Rai, is a resident of the society, and has the numbers of other residents saved in her constantly-buzzing phone. “Clubhouse mein hoon, paanch baje tak rahoongi,” she told someone. To someone else, a parent from her school, she said, “Election duty pe hoon.”

The profile of electors here is different from those in Tughlaqpur village, but the questions they asked were similar. Many residents were migrants, retirees, and tenants whose addresses had changed frequently, and very few of whom had clear memories of voting in 2003.

Story continues below this ad

“We are facing a lot of difficulties in finding people’s details… many don’t have anything from the last SIR,” said Khushboo, looking at an unresponsive Electoral Search window on her phone. “Woh (Election Commission) site hi nahi khul rahi hai… check kaise karein?” She asked another BLO appointed by the Greater Noida Authority to assist her.

Budh Pal (59) said he hadn’t voted “for many years”, and had lived in Bijwasan, Mahipalpur, and Karol Bagh in Delhi, and in Gurgaon before moving to Greater Noida. “Ye 2003 ki details hain?” Khushboo asked him, checking his papers. “Ye toh 2008 ke hain, uncle.”

She tried to search for Pal’s Delhi records online. They did not appear.

Retired civil servant Aryama Sanyal (65), told the BLO her voter ID was of Jaipur, and those of her son and daughter-in-law were of other states. “But we live here and want to vote here.” Khushboo explained to her that Sanyal would have to start by getting her name deleted in Jaipur.

Story continues below this ad

Sanjay Verma (43) said he pretty much had no details to supply. “I didn’t vote in 2003. And who remembers their parents’ details these days?”

Another resident, Sapna, complained she had been trying “on the website but no details are appearing”. A woman with her said she had realised why she had been unable to find her mother’s details: “Her name was misspelled, even though her Voter ID has the correct spelling.”

Pritam Singh (45), the Greater Noida Authority BLO, said he and his colleagues had been visiting housing societies since November 4. “Sometimes we have to ring the bell 10 times before someone opens the door. But we wait till someone answers…. koi kachcha kaam nahin karna hai.”

Khushboo said she had been asked to go to her school for an hour on top of the SIR duty. “I refused. I am already overworked. An entire room in my home is filled with documents. Keeping these papers safely is a big responsibility,” she said.

Story continues below this ad

She had arranged forms in neat piles – one of those whose voter data could not be found online, another of residents marked for deletion because they were dead or had moved, a third of people who were yet to respond with the filled-in forms.

A queue was forming in front of her. Her phone was ringing. She shuffled her papers. And muttered absentmindedly about having to be away from her family for long hours every day: “Meri bachchi ka Board exam hai…”

Neetika Jha

Neetika Jha is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in the Noida bureau. She primarily covers crime, health, and environmental issues, as well as human-interest features across Noida, Ghaziabad, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Professional Profile Education: She is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Core Beat: Her work focuses on the administrative and social challenges of the NCR's satellite cities. She is known for her detailed reporting on civic infrastructure (like the Noida International Airport), environmental violations, and high-profile criminal investigations. Personal Interests: Outside of reporting, she is an avid reader of fiction (citing The Thursday Murder Club and Yellowface as recent favorites) and a gardening enthusiast. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Neetika’s recent reportage has been dominated by winter-related crises in the NCR and significant criminal legalities: 1. Environment & Public Safety "Greater Noida Authority slaps fines on firms for violating GRAP IV norms" (Dec 21, 2025): Reporting on heavy penalties imposed on major developers like NBCC for flouting anti-pollution construction bans. "Fatal pile-up on Yamuna Expressway: Fog, high speed emerge as key safety risks" (Dec 17, 2025): A major report on a 15-vehicle collision caused by dense fog that killed 17 people. "At Chilla, Kalindi, DND, many fined Rs 20,000 for non-compliance to Delhi's BS-VI rule" (Dec 19, 2025): On-the-ground reporting from the borders where Noida police penalize non-compliant vehicles entering the capital. "Driving in Noida amid fog? New speed limits in effect till Feb 15" (Dec 13, 2025): Detailing the seasonal traffic restrictions aimed at preventing highway accidents. 2. Crime & Legal Developments "'Have you ever heard of a murder case being withdrawn?': Court in Akhlaq lynching case" (Dec 12, 2025): Covering a critical courtroom hearing where the court questioned the UP government's petition to withdraw charges against the accused. "After losing money in stock market, bank employee in Ghaziabad withdraws Rs 64 lakh from customers' accounts" (Dec 14, 2025): An investigative piece on internal bank fraud and the risks of modern digital embezzlement. "Woman shot dead by partner in Noida: Three days on, accused still on the run" (Dec 2, 2025): Tracking a high-profile domestic violence and murder case in Central Noida. 3. Human Interest & Features "'Had tears in my eyes': Army men walk bride down the aisle 20 years after father died in terror attack" (Dec 2, 2025): A moving story about soldiers from a Punjab Grenadiers unit fulfilling a father's duty for his daughter. "How a Zepto delivery man heard a cry — and saved two kids dumped in Noida drain" (Dec 2025): A viral human-interest story highlighting individual heroism in the city. Signature Style Neetika is recognized for her meticulous follow-up on local tragedies. Whether it is a massive pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway or the ongoing construction of the Jewar (Noida) Airport, she focuses on systemic lapses and the safety of commuters. Her crime reporting often explores the psychological motives behind "crimes of passion" and the rising trend of financial cyber-fraud in the Ghaziabad-Noida belt. ... Read More

Saman Husain

Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh. Professional Profile Education: She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Core Beats: Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime. Specialization: She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions. Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025) Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context: 1. Politics: “On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections. “Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding. 2. Longforms “Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud… “How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it. 3. Crime and Justice: “He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh. “Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases. 4. Policy Impact “At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters. Signature Style Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives. X (Twitter): @SamanHusain9 ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Special Intensive Revision

Loading Taboola...