BLOs Told To Begin DigitisationGurvinder SinghLudhiana: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which commenced on June 25, has gathered momentum in Ludhiana, with the election department distributing nearly 96% of the pre-printed enumeration forms (EFs) among registered voters.Officials said the remaining forms largely pertain to voters, who could not be contacted during the initial rounds of house-to-house visits or whose residences could not be mapped. The booth-level officers (BLOs) have been directed to continue making repeated visits to ensure that every eligible voter is covered before the completion of the month-long exercise on July 24.According to the election department, around 3.25% of the enumeration forms have already been collected back after being duly filled and signed by the voters. Election officials said the collection was expected to accelerate in the coming days as more households complete the forms.Election tehsildar Rajan Dhall said field staff had been instructed to begin digitizing the forms that had been received instead ofwaiting for the completion of the distribution exercise. “We have directed the staff to start digitising the collected formssimultaneously so that the verification process remains on schedule,” he said.Ludhiana district has deployed 2,927 BLOs, 292 supervisors, 14 electoral registration officers (EROs), 28 assistant electoralregistration pfficers (AEROs), 70 additional AEROs and supporting election staff for the Special Intensive Revision. Each BLO has been assigned nearly 300 households and around 1,200 voters and has been instructed to visit every household three times.The district has a total of 26,83,999 registered voters, comprising 14,17,933 male voters, 12,65,931 female voters and 135 third-gender voters.During the exercise, the BLOs are distributing and collecting enumeration forms, assisting voters in filling them, verifying online submissions and identifying absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate voters. The officials reiterated that residents should cooperate with BLOs, as repeated non-submission of the enumeration form may affect the retention of aperson’s name in the electoral roll after due verification.BOX:‘Helpline No. 1950 Does Not Exist’ Message Creates ConfusionMeanwhile, there is reported confusion while trying to contact the ElectionCommission’s voter helpline, 1950. Although the helpline is functional andreceiving calls, the callers said whenever all lines are occupied, insteadof hearing a message that the line is busy, they are informed that thenumber “does not exist.”The misleading recorded message has left many callers wondering whetherthey had dialled an incorrect number. Some citizens said they attemptedcalling multiple times after receiving the message, believing that thehelpline had been discontinued.“It was confusing because the system said the number does not exist. Ithought I had dialled the wrong number, but later found out after tryingmany times,” said a resident, who was trying to seek information regardingthe SIR process.Responding to the issue, election tehsildar Rajan Dhall said the departmenthad taken note of the problem and will be fixed as soon as possible. Hesaid the 1950 helpline was operational and receiving calls. Six staffmembers in two shifts are attending calls on three dedicated lines toextend assistance to residents, according to the officials.
