Daijiworld Media Network – Kolkata

Kolkata, Nov 24: Tension escalated in central Kolkata on Monday as booth-level officers (BLOs), engaged in the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) process, clashed with police personnel while attempting to enter the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office during a protest against alleged excessive workload.

The protest, organised by the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee, began with a march from College Square, where demonstrators carried locks and fetters symbolically intending to “lock down” the CEO office building. As the procession reached central Kolkata, several BLOs attempted to break through police barricades, leading to a scuffle.

Raising slogans against the Election Commission of India (ECI), the demonstrators alleged that they were compelled to hold the march as their repeated complaints of “intense and inhuman work pressure” during the SIR exercise had gone unanswered.

“Tasks that normally take more than two years are now being forced upon BLOs within a very short timeframe,” a committee functionary said, adding that many officers had fallen ill due to the workload. The committee also claimed that two BLOs had died by suicide recently due to stress.

The organisation had earlier announced that para-teachers, college professors and teachers from several groups would join the rally to press for urgent intervention from the ECI.

The house-to-house enumeration under the SIR began on November 4 and is scheduled to continue till December 4, with the draft rolls expected to be published on December 9.

The committee warned that if deadlines are not extended or corrective steps taken, they would launch an indefinite protest campaign.

Meanwhile, BLO Oikya Mancha, another organisation, separately raised concerns regarding the digitisation of enumeration forms and demanded additional support staff. A deputation in this regard was submitted on November 22.