BLO’s Death Sparks Concern Over Election Workload
By KUNAL CHATTERJEE
A booth level officer (BLO) in East Burdwan has died, with her family alleging extreme work pressure as the cause. The deceased, Namita Hansda, an Anganwadi worker by profession, was serving as the BLO for booth number 278 of Chowk Balarampur in Memari.
She reportedly suffered a brain stroke late on Saturday while on duty and was rushed to Kalna Subdistrict Hospital, where she died the same night. Her husband, Madhav Hansda, claimed that Namita was under severe stress due to official pressure to distribute enumeration forms for the ongoing voter list revision. “Every day she was being told to distribute more forms. She was working till night and was mentally devastated,” he said.
District Magistrate Ayesha Rani confirmed receiving reports of the incident and stated that officers with health issues are normally exempted from BLO duties. “I am looking into it,” she said. Meanwhile, Swapan Mandal, polling worker and secretary of the BLO Oikya Mancha, has written to the state Chief Electoral Officer demanding Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the bereaved family.
The Election Commission has directed BLOs across the state to distribute forms related to the Summary Revision of the electoral rolls (SIR) by December 4, using the 2002 voter list as a reference. BLOs are required to visit every household during this phase, with the draft voter list set to be published on December 9.
