Bengal BLO Suffers Cerebral Attack Amid SIR Work Pressure; Family Blames Overload | India News
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A 60-year-old booth-level officer (BLO) in West Bengal, tasked with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, suffered a cerebral attack while on duty in Konnagar town. This incident comes just hours after another BLO died by suicide in Jalpaiguri district, with her family citing unbearable work pressure. Tapati Biswas, an Anganwadi worker, was rushed to the Konnagar Matrisadan Hospital after experiencing symptoms of a high blood sugar and blood pressure. Her husband, Prabir Kumar Biswas, attributed her condition to excessive work pressure. "She couldn't sleep at night, constantly worried about losing her job as an Anganwadi worker if she didn't complete the SIR work," he said. The doctor treating her confirmed that she suffered a cerebral attack, affecting her left arm's movement. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the high workload imposed on BLOs. "28 people have lost their lives since SIR began, with some dying from fear and uncertainty, others from stress and overload," she wrote on X. The CM pointed out the accelerated timeline for the SIR work, which was earlier spread over 3 years but is now being completed in 2 months. Bharatiya Janata Party's Suvendu Adhikari countered that SIR had nothing to do with the deaths, citing that it was conducted in Bihar and other states without any reported fatalities. The state's chief electoral officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, sought a report on the Jalpaiguri incident, but his office remained silent on the Konnagar incident. BLOs across Bengal are currently tasked with distributing and collecting enumeration forms, a process expected to be completed by December 4. Many have complained about work pressure, with some staging protests in recent weeks. The first draft electoral roll is scheduled for publication on December 9, ahead of the expected assembly polls in March-April 2026.
