SIR exercise: Bengal CEO to hold meeting with telecom companies to resolve network issues faced by BLOs
Kolkata, Nov. 23 (LatestNewsX) – The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) will meet with telecom providers on Monday after Booth Level Officers (BLOs) raised concerns about connectivity problems while scanning QR codes and uploading enumeration forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Election Commission insiders told reporters that CEO Manoj Agarwal plans to discuss the website’s server issues with the telecom companies. The BLOs have already voiced frustration over the SIR workload, especially the difficulty of uploading data online due to spotty network coverage.
In response, the Commission has organized a forum with all telecom operators to tackle these technical glitches. This move comes amid growing complaints from BLOs who feel pressured to submit completed forms in a tight timeframe and need reliable connections to do so.
Tragically, two female BLOs have reportedly taken their own lives, allegedly because of the SIR workload, and several others have fallen ill during the process. To help ease the strain, the Election Commission has directed district administrations to start paying BLOs their due remuneration for SIR work from next week. The decision aims to reduce the incidence of stress‑related health incidents among officials.
Earlier last week, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to the Election Commission requesting an immediate halt to the SIR process in West Bengal. Sources say the state CEO received instructions from Delhi to investigate the BLOs’ complaints and resolve the site’s technical problems swiftly. Following those directives, CEO Agarwal is moving forward with a meeting of the telecom firms.
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