Jamshedpur: For booth level officers (BLOs) conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, collecting enumeration forms is only half the job. The other half begins when their phones ring — sometimes at midnight and occasionally before dawn.“Madam, if I am marked absent, will I stop receiving Maiya Samman Yojana assistance?” is among the questions BLOs frequently face. Women and senior citizens also worry that deletion from the electoral roll could affect welfare benefits. Others ask whether a missing name means loss of citizenship or cancellation of a passport.Mostly teachers juggling school duties with revision work, BLOs across Mango, Sakchi, Sonari, Kadma, Bistupur and Telco said their mobile numbers have effectively become round-the-clock election helplines — minus the recorded message asking callers to wait.
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“Most callers are women and senior citizens. They are genuinely worried and do not understand the process,” a BLO from Sonari said. “Even when they call at midnight or early in the morning, we patiently explain that electoral rolls and welfare schemes are separate matters.”The workload is also affecting their sleep, health and family time. A woman BLO from Kadma said her day begins at dawn and often stretches until midnight.“Even at home, my phone keeps ringing. My husband is angry because I cannot give the family enough time. Sometimes, I feel my family life is going for a toss,” she said.A BLO from Mango said handling calls at odd hours was becoming mentally exhausting. “People call because they are scared, and we understand that. But we are also human and need rest,” she said.East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Rajiv Ranjan urged residents not to panic or believe rumours. He asked those yet to submit their enumeration forms to do so without delay and contact BLOs or election authorities for clarification.Enumeration will continue until July 29. The draft electoral roll will be published on Aug 5, after which claims and objections may be filed until Sept 4. These are scheduled to be disposed of by Oct 3, with the final roll set for publication on Oct 7.
Voters at a special camp for filling up enumeration forms in Jamshedpur
