Latehar steps up SIR drive amid challenges

PNS

Daltonganj

With only a month left for claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, concerns remain over whether the exercise will be completed on schedule. While some Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have distributed only 11 per cent of enumeration forms in the first 10 days, others have achieved 100 per cent coverage.

During an inspection of Hussainabad Assembly constituency on Thursday, District Election Officer Dilip Pratap Singh Shekhawat reviewed the contrasting performances and cautioned both slow and fast-moving BLOs, stressing that collecting completed forms is as important as distributing them.

Officials acknowledge that the exercise is demanding, particularly as nearly 99 percent of BLOs are women balancing health issues and household responsibilities. Uneven distribution and a large number of unmapped voters and electoral roll anomalies have further complicated the process.

Latehar district, with over five lakh voters, has more than 1.40 lakh electors with anomalies, including over 64,000 in Manika and 76,000 in Latehar Assembly constituencies. Similar issues exist in neighbouring Palamu district. Cases of missing names and incorrect voter classifications point to both voter negligence and institutional lapses over the years.

Despite these challenges, Latehar has mapped 85.7 per cent of its electors, with Latehar Assembly constituency crossing 88 percent. District Election Officer Sandip Kumar urged voters to cooperate with BLOs, describing SIR as a transparent exercise to purify electoral rolls.

The district has deployed 679 BLOs and over 600 volunteers. However, officials say the limited issuance of Van Pattas, an important document in the Fifth Schedule area, remains a concern.