The intense workload for the ongoing voter list cleanup drive has left booth-level officers (BLOs) struggling to meet their deadlines across the country, sparking political outrage over alleged deaths and suicides due to stress.
Several BLOs have raised concerns over the work pressure, alleging a lack of training, low honorarium, and tight deadlines, taking a toll on their health and daily lives.
The BLOs were appointed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to add new voters, correct details, and remove duplicate or ineligible names, mostly through door-to-door verifications, even in far-off villages. In its second phase, the process is currently being carried out in 12 states, including Uttar Pradesh.
NDTV spoke to some BLOs in UP's Bulandshahr to understand their difficulties.
Kavita, an Anganwadi worker serving as a BLO since 2009, said she underwent just a day's training on November 8. They were taught just the basics - how to download the app, fill out forms online and offline, and upload their forms.
Despite her experience in voter-related activities, she found the SIR work to be entirely different from previous years. With minimal training, she said that she relied on YouTube tutorials, colleagues, and other fellow BLOs to learn the SIR work.
Daily Struggles
The SIR work has robbed the BLOs of their sleep and personal time, with Kavita describing an exhausting 15-16-hour daily routine.
"I don't know when I go to sleep or when I wake up. On some days, no food is cooked at home. I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and do online form submission work till 10 am. Then I go to the village for physical form collection and distribution," said Kavita.
Read: Deaths, Suicide Claims, Resignations: What's Pushing Poll Officers To Edge
Although the BLOs were given time from November 4 till December 4 to complete the verification process, she said that the actual forms reached them only on November 8, leaving them with fewer working days.
The delay translated into extra working hours. Work continued late into the night as the BLOs targeted to meet their daily targets. Besides, administrative pressure, regular monitoring, and reproaches for not meeting targets have also become a part of their life.
"There is a lot of work pressure. I have to take medicine twice a day to be able to work," said Kavita.
Suicides and Deaths
The BLOs expressed concern over the recent suicide cases reported from across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, with their families linking their cases to rising stress among field workers.
Jyoti, a teacher and a BLO, said the workload is so intense that it adds to the stress, and that has led many officers to take their own lives. Among the factors that doubled the workload are short deadlines and late training, she listed.
Read: Bengal Teacher Hospitalised, Family Claims Stress Due To SIR Duty
"On paper, it says November 4, but our training started on November 8. We lost 4-5 days. The time is less, and the work is too much. That's why BLOs are dying by suicide. If they had been given 2-3 months, they wouldn't have taken such a step," she said. However, she added that suicide is wrong, and one must leave the work if they find it too gruelling.
Jyoti also pointed out that they have to revisit the voters, sometimes 8-10 times, to verify voters, and that has led to an increased workload. "Sometimes we find the voters at home, sometimes not. We have to go to their homes repeatedly. Here in this village, we have been told that November 30 is the deadline. We want to finish the work before the deadline," she added.
More time should have been allotted for such a large exercise, Jyoti and Kavita stressed.
Pay For BLOs
Kavita receives a daily stipend of Rs 500 for her BLO duties, besides the regular Anganwadi salary of Rs 4,500 from the Centre and Rs 1,500 from the UP government. But that's "too little," she said, especially since she has to pay from her own pocket for work expenses.
"Rs 500 is nothing. I have spent more than that on phone recharge. We spend our own money to call people. I request the government to increase our salary," she said, seeking more incentives for the long hours that they are putting in for the SIR exercise.
