BLO Dies In Bengal, Family Alleges Excessive Work Pressure During SIR

Kolkata: A booth-level officer (BLO) in West Bengal’s Malda district died on Wednesday, with her family alleging that excessive workload during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls caused severe stress.

The deceased, Samprita Choudhury Sanyal, had been unwell for several days and was advised rest by doctors, but continued working on the electoral roll revision, her husband said. He alleged that her condition worsened as the SIR workload increased. She died at her residence early Wednesday.

Sanyal was an ICDS worker and was serving as the BLO of booth number 163 in the Englishbazar Municipality area, a senior police officer said. She was a resident of the Phulbari Pakurtala area.

Trinamool Congress councillor Gayatri Ghosh visited the family and alleged that excessive pressure during the SIR process was affecting the health of BLOs.

BJP South Malda organisational district president Ajay Gangopadhyay said that while the death was unfortunate, blaming the Election Commission alone was not appropriate. He alleged that Trinamool Congress leaders and elected representatives were also pressuring BLOs over the deletion of fake voters.