9-Lakh Forms Distributed on Day One: Officials
SIR: BLOs begin distributing EF except in 4-Assembly constituencies in City
Hyderabad:The distribution of enumeration forms for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roll was stalled in four Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad on the first day owing to non-availability of the forms in English. Elsewhere in the state, booth level officers distributed close to nine lakh forms.
In the city, voters in Bahadurpura, Yakutpura, Musheerabad and Jubilee Hills Assembly segments failed to receive the forms, while in Chandrayangutta the work began at 4 pm. Acknowledging the delay, officials said that voters in these constituencies would receive the forms from Friday.
“The only two constituencies which are yet to receive forms at the ERO level are Bahadurpura and Yakutpura because of a printing delay. At the Musheerabad and Jubilee Hills constituencies, officials received the forms and the BLOs may distribute from Friday,” an official told Deccan Chronicle.
A BLO from Bahadurpura constituency said that he waited all day for the forms to arrive at the GHMC deputy commissioner’s office. “As they did not arrive till the evening we returned home after spending all day attending meetings related to SIR,” said P. Arjun, a BLO of Doodhbowli.
Information received from the districts indicated that the enumeration phase began across all the Assembly constituencies, with the forms being distributed in Telugu. A small number of BLOs could not reach voters in a few booths, sources said.
Those who that felt filling physical forms was a needless exercise found the option of filling the enumeration form online handy. “If your name appears in 2002 SIR list, your mobile number is registered with ECI and if your name is on the voter ID and matches with your name on Aadhaar card, online mapping can be done,” said Farooq Hussain, a former Saudi expat who uploaded his details online on ECI website on Thursday.
There were complaints of mismatch of BLO numbers uploaded on the website https://ceotelangana.nic.in/. “Our party activists have complained to us about the BLO mobile number mismatch in Kukatpally and in some other areas. When the number was called on the website, the individual denied that he was a BLO,” alleged P. Rajesh Kumar, chairman of the state Congress’ Election Commission Coordination Committee. In most of the places, booth level agents (BLAs) of various political parties began active coordination with the BLOs.
Despite the election authorities remaining confident that the distribution of forms would be completed by July 1, Friday’s holiday for the 10th Muharram (Youm-e-Ashura) and the National Pulse Polio immunisation drive between June 28 and July 1 are likely to delay the process. Close to 40,000 ASHA and Anganwadi workers have been engaged as BLOs, are also expected to work for the Pulse Polio drive.
An ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker said they had decided to avoid SIR work until the Pulse Polio drive is completed. “Since there are clear directions, we have decided to place complete focus on Pulse Polio. ASHA and Anganwadi workers are already made to take up laborious duties particularly in populated districts like Hyderabad. How can they be expected to work for both the SIR and Pulse Polio drives?,” asked K. Revathi, ASHA Workers Union, general secretary (Medchal).
