The BLOs have alleged that the Election Commission of India (EC) was subjecting them to intense and unreasonable work pressure, including late-night instructions and sudden orders for digital data entry. (File Photo)
Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal, several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in many districts across the state on Saturday staged protests against data entry of enumeration forms and refused to take training on the same.
The BLOs have alleged that the Election Commission of India (EC) was subjecting them to intense and unreasonable work pressure, including late-night instructions and sudden orders for digital data entry.
You’ve Read Your Free Stories For Now
Sign up and keep reading more stories that matter to you.
The BLOs in Howrah, Barrackpore and Siliguri, claimed that the poll body had “suddenly” directed them to shift to digital data entry and undergo immediate training, which they said was impossible to manage at such short notice.
According to BLOs, after distributing and collecting the enumeration forms, it is difficult to make data entry of all enumeration forms on the ECI app.
Around hundred BLOs from Barrackpore region staged a protest at the Barrackpore Sub-Divisional Office, while their counterparts in Tikiapara, in Howrah district have boycotted training arranged for digitisation. On Friday, 240 BLOs of Shibpur Assembly constituency were scheduled to undergo data-entry training at a government office on the East-West Bypass in Tikiapara. They complained that they were being asked to enter data twice, once manually and again digitally, in addition to handling a large volume of forms that had to be submitted to the EC in a short span.
Similar protests were reported from Siliguri, where the training was stopped due to BLOs’ protest at Deenbandhu Manch. The BLOs have expressed their inability to take on additional responsibilities due to excessive workload and data entry work.
“We have already told the state government to hire data entry operators. In case the government is not hiring, in such a situation, we have requested the District Electoral Officer and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to hire data entry operators locally,” a senior official said.
Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari criticized the state government for not hiring data entry operators, saying it is their responsibility to do so. “This was the responsibility of the state government to hire data entry operators to enter information of enumeration forms in the ECI’s app, but the state government did not recruit. Bihar government recruited four thousand data entry operators. Here in Bengal, the government is not cooperating with the ECI to conduct SIR.”
Story continues below this ad
However, TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya questioned the ECI’s timeline for completing SIR, saying it’s impossible to complete within three months. “What lessons did ECI take from Bihar SIR? Is it possible to complete SIR within this short period? In 2002, SIR completed in two years and now the commission is trying to complete this within three months which is impossible,” he said.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s office had directed all district election officials to complete the collection of filled-in SIR enumeration forms within this month.
Atri Mitra is a highly accomplished Special Correspondent for The Indian Express, bringing over 20 years of experience to his reporting. His work is characterized by deep regional knowledge and a focus on critical administrative and political developments, establishing strong Expertise and Authority in his domain.
Experience
Current Role: Special Correspondent, The Indian Express.
Decades of Experience: Over two decades of extensive reporting experience, primarily covering administration and political news.
Geographical Focus: Holds significant reporting experience from West Bengal, Bihar, and the North-East, providing a comprehensive understanding of the socio-political landscape in these regions.
Key Coverage: Has dedicated more than ten years to covering administration and political news, with a keen focus on political developments in West Bengal.
Electoral Reporting: Demonstrated a commitment to crucial political moments, having covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections during his time at Anandabazar Patrika, and the 2019 Bihar Lok Sabha election while working with News18-Bangla.
Career Foundation: Began his career at the leading vernacular daily Anandabazar Patrika, where he worked for more than fifteen years, including a three-year stint as the Bihar correspondent.
Education
Advanced Degree: Holds a Master's degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University, providing an analytical framework for his political and administrative reporting.
Undergraduate Education: Holds a Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University.
Prestigious Alumni: His educational background includes attending esteemed institutions: he is an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
Atri Mitra's decades of dedicated reporting, substantial focus on political and administrative beats, and solid academic credentials make him a trusted and authoritative source for news and analysis from Eastern and North-Eastern India. ... Read More
