Ranchi: Several eligible voters were yet to approach booth level officers (BLOs) for enrolment despite mega help desks and awareness meetings held across Jharkhand on Saturday under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While some BLOs reported growing public interest, others said the response remained limited.At a polling station in Ranchi, BLO Pratima Toppo said people who had initially shown little interest were gradually recognising the importance of the exercise. “Initially, people were not taking any interest, but now they are,” she said.BLO Angela Minz, however, said some eligible residents were still not coming forward to enrol. Another BLO, Maria Goretti Bara, said a few voters in her booth were continuing to collect, fill and submit Forms 6 and 8.The interactions also revealed that some BLOs were unaware of the Election Commission’s revised SIR schedule. The final electoral roll, earlier scheduled for publication on Oct 19, will now be published on Nov 30. The deadline for disposal of notices and hearings has been extended from Oct 14 to Oct 31, while applications received after Sept 30 will be processed by Nov 23.The help desks and meetings between BLOs and BLA-2 were organised in accordance with EC directions. Chunav Pathshalas were also held to inform young and other eligible citizens about the enrolment process and the documents required.Chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar inspected help desks at polling stations in Hazaribag and Ramgarh. He said the response was “fair” at camps.North Chhotanagpur divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Gupta also inspected polling booths in Ramgarh as part of the exercise. He visited booths 130, 131 and 132 in Ramgarh block, and booths 235, 236 and 238 in Chitarpur block under the Ramgarh assembly constituency.Noting the low number of Form-6 applications for inclusion of new voters at some locations, Gupta directed BLOs and supervisors to intensify door-to-door outreach. He also asked them to encourage eligible residents to submit the forms and ensure their timely online entry.Gupta stressed the need for wider publicity to ensure complete voter enrolment and updated electoral rolls ahead of the elections.(With inputs from N K Agarwal in Ramgarh)
About The Author
