Migration and missing data slows pre-SIR mapping in T

Hyderabad: Permanent migration, withholding of information, and voters from other states have emerged as major hindrances during the pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, as officials in many district headquarters and towns across Telangana struggled to trace voters.Compared to their rural counterparts, mapping in urban areas has moved at a snail's pace. For example, while Jayashankar Bhupalpally recorded a mapping rate of nearly 60%, with some rural areas exceeding 85%, Bhupalpally town stood at just 24%. Similarly, in the Parkal constituency under Hanumakonda, Geesugonda achieved 64.34% mapping, as against close to 90% in Nadikuda. "Tracing voters is turning into a major headache. We fear about 10,000 votes could be lost due to permanent migration," said Porika Harikrishna, electoral registration officer (ERO), Jayashankar Bhupalpally.
He added that of the total 55,408 votes in Bhupalpally town, only around 24% had been mapped since Nov. ‘Voters reluctant'"One of the polling stations under the constituency had 9,000 voters listed, and it is now difficult to trace many of them," he said. Harikrishna noted that back in 2002, the area was under a gram panchayat with a small population. "Now the situation is different. It has become a district headquarters, and the population has increased manyfold. Tracing voters has therefore become a challenge," he explained. A similar problem has been reported in several other districts, including Warangal, Hanumakonda, Karimnagar, Khammam, as well as in Greater Hyderabad — Medchal Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy, and Hyderabad districts."At the ground level, we have noticed that many voters are unwilling to share basic information that would help us trace their details in the 2002 voter list. Even if they do not remember where they voted back then, providing details of their native place would be helpful," said K Narayana, ERO of Parkal constituency.He also said progress was hampered by permanent migration to Hyderabad, other cities in the country, or even abroad. "During the preparatory round, we are also sanitising the voters' list by removing deceased and duplicate entries," he added.