PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
As the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise gathers pace across Uttarakhand, many residents in Dehradun say that they are struggling with confusion over documentation requirements, repeated verification and the practical difficulties of completing the process, while Booth Level Officers (BLOs) say that they too are facing practical issues.
“I’ve lived at the same address for nearly 20 years and have voted in every election. I don’t understand why I have to submit documents again. It feels like we’re being asked to prove ourselves repeatedly despite having valid voter IDs,” localite Suraj Kumar said.
Working professionals say that the timing of the exercise has made participation difficult. “Most people are at work during the day. If officials visit while we’re away, it becomes stressful to coordinate another visit or attend a hearing. The process could have been made more flexible through online verification or weekend camps,” another local resident Kamal Kishore said.
Others say that a lack of clarity has fuelled anxiety among voters.”There is a lot of confusion. Some people say that Aadhaar is enough, while others say that additional documents may be required. We need clearer communication from the authorities so that people don’t panic or worry about losing their names from the electoral roll,” said Vimal Yadav.
BLOs say that the exercise has its own challenges. One of the difficulties arises when houses are found locked during door-to-door visits. In such cases, BLOs contact residents through their registered mobile numbers, while notices are also handed over to neighbours where appropriate. BLO Ram Dobhal of Dharampur said that many residents who are aware of the exercise are proactively approaching BLOs to collect their notices.
Another BLO Bhawana Pant said that balancing official duties with household responsibilities has been challenging. A homemaker with young children, she said that she has to prepare them for school, complete household chores and return in time to pick them up, limiting the number of homes she can cover each day, Pant said.
Responding to concerns, Dehradun assistant municipal commissioner Tanvir Singh Marwah, who is overseeing the exercise in the Rajpur Road Assembly constituency said that voters can submit documents to correct minor errors such as spelling or spacing mistakes before their respective Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). He also said that fears over deletion of names, saying that electoral rolls are revised only after due verification. “We delete a name only when we are 100 per cent certain. BLOs have no authority to remove names, that power rests only with the AERO and the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO),” Marwah said.
