The immense workload and pressure associated with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have escalated from logistical challenges to a severe public health crisis among Booth Level Officers (BLOs), with recent incidents, including a reported cerebral attack, tragically highlighting the human cost of the rushed exercise.

Unbearable Pressure Leads to Medical Emergencies

The administrative and technical hurdles faced by BLOs have been compounded by a spate of health incidents, which authorities and political parties have linked to the stressful nature of the job.

Cerebral Attack Incident:
In a particularly alarming event reported just days ago, a BLO in East Burdwan (Purba Bardhaman), identified as Namita Hansda (an Anganwadi worker), died of a cerebral attack (brain hemorrhage). Her death was allegedly triggered by the relentless work pressure during the electoral roll revision drive.

Widespread Health Concerns:
This is not an isolated incident. Across several states, reports have surfaced of other BLOs succumbing to cardiac arrests or taking the extreme step of suicide, with their families and colleagues uniformly citing the unbearable workload, late-night data entry, continuous travel, and deadline pressure as the primary causes of their distress.

Political Response to Loss of Life:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directly referenced the cerebral attack and subsequent suicides, publicly urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to “immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost.” She alleged that this “unplanned, relentless workload” is causing a devastating human cost.

Tech Glitches, Public Confusion, and Political Scrutiny Remain

While the health crisis takes center stage, the fundamental issues driving the work pressure—technical failures and political interference—persist, making the BLOs’ task even more precarious.

Technical and Logistical Overload:
BLOs continue to struggle with the official app, which is prone to glitches and requires perfect photo-matching, drastically slowing down the process of digitising collected Enumeration Forms (EFs). They are essentially required to perform the duties of a field investigator, a data entry operator, and a public relations officer simultaneously, often outside regular hours.

Political Allegations on Revision Integrity:
The process remains a political flashpoint. Opposition parties are using these incidents to reinforce their claims that the rushed nature of the revision, compressed from a period that previously took years into just a few months, is structurally flawed and dangerous, potentially leading to the mass exclusion of eligible voters. The ECI is facing accusations of putting “inhuman pressure” on the ground staff to meet politically motivated timelines.

Administrative Ultimatum:
Despite the mounting casualties, the administrative resolve to meet deadlines remains firm, with reports of FIRs being filed against non-compliant BLOs, an action that further increases the mental stress on the field staff.

The deaths and health crises underscore a critical failure in the planning and support structure for the Special Intensive Revision, turning a crucial democratic exercise into a high-risk assignment for the frontline workers responsible for its execution.

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