Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Friday created an elaborate sand sculpture at Niladri Beach in Puri to generate public awareness about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha, which entered a key phase with the commencement of door-to-door voter enumeration.

The awareness initiative coincides with the statewide exercise under which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit households across Odisha from May 30 to June 28 to distribute and collect voter enumeration forms. The exercise forms a crucial part of updating and verifying electoral rolls ahead of future elections.

State Chief Electoral Officer RS Gopalan thanked Pattnaik for using his art to support the voter awareness campaign. He said the administration appreciated the artist’s efforts in encouraging public participation in the electoral roll revision process.

House-To-House Verification Begins Across State

Speaking to reporters, Gopalan detailed the schedule of the Special Intensive Revision and urged voters to cooperate with election officials during the month-long exercise.

He said BLOs would conduct house-to-house visits between May 30 and June 28 and would also remain available at polling booths every evening from 3 pm to 5 pm. Their responsibility is to distribute enumeration forms to all voters listed in the 2025 electoral roll, assist in the completion of forms and collect the documents for verification.

According to election officials, the information gathered during the exercise will be used to update electoral records and ensure the accuracy of voter lists. The revision process aims to identify eligible voters, remove inaccuracies and maintain an up-to-date electoral database.

The CEO further said that once the forms are collected, the draft electoral roll will be published on July 5. Citizens will then be able to submit claims and objections regarding entries in the roll until August 4.

Claims And Objections Process To Follow Draft Publication

After the claims and objections period closes, election authorities will conduct hearings and inquiries into all submissions. The process of examining and disposing of claims and objections will continue for nearly a month before the final electoral roll is prepared.

The final revised electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 6, 2026.

Meanwhile, Dibya Jyoti Parida said the district administration had made all necessary arrangements to facilitate the exercise in Puri. He appealed to voters to extend full cooperation to BLOs during their visits and ensure that the required information is provided accurately in the enumeration forms.

Odisha Among States Undergoing Intensive Electoral Roll Revision

The Special Intensive Revision programme is also being carried out in Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur. For these states, the qualifying date for the revision exercise has been fixed as July 1, 2026.

The preparatory phase, including training and printing of materials, was conducted between May 20 and May 29. Alongside voter verification, the rationalisation of polling stations is also scheduled to be completed by June 28.

Election officials said the exercise is aimed at strengthening the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring that voter rolls remain accurate, transparent and inclusive. Authorities have urged all eligible voters to participate actively in the revision process and respond promptly when approached by BLOs during the ongoing verification drive.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates!

App Store –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540 

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share