176-day EC duty finally ends for BLOs but no release order yet

Kolkata: Booth-level officers finally got a breather from their "out of syllabus" work, after slogging for 176 days ever since the SIR exercise was rolled out. But BLOs pointed out that they were yet to receive their ‘release order' from the EC though their assignments ended with the conclusion of the two-phase Assembly elections.

"Now that the election is over, I no longer have any BLO job. But I am yet to get a release order from the ERO, who gave me the appointment letter for the BLO duty," said Arup Mondal, a school teacher who was roped in as a BLO in Tollygunge. "From next week, I will return to school and can concentrate on full-fledged teaching. But I need the EC release order."



The on-ground work of around 80,681 BLOs in Bengal started on Nov 4 with the distribution of enumeration forms among residents for the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. For over a month, they visited electors' homes—first to give out the forms and then, to collect the filled forms—and upload the voters' data online. The enumeration work ended on Dec 11.

As most BLOs were teachers and officials at govt schools, the institutes had to make do with curtailed staff, managing teaching as well as administrative work. Later, after electors' hearings started winding up, the teachers-turned-BLOs started returning to classrooms. But by then, most schools were occupied by CAPF, resulting in suspension of classes. But their work as BLOs continued.

Now that the election is over, school heads have called the BLOs back, asking them to return to work full time. But the BLOs are still awaiting a formal release.

After the draft electoral roll was published on Dec 16, BLOs were flooded with ‘claims' and ‘objections' as electors were summoned by the EC with documents for hearings to get their names on the voting list. The introduction of 17 features to BLO App —added one after the other—kept the BLOs on their toes during the hearing phase. "Our workload continued rising. During the publication of supplementary lists, our phones kept ringing non-stop as electors sought our help to know if their names had appeared in the roll. Before the election, distribution of voter slips was a new task we were given. Last of all, we were sent to manage voter assistance booths at polling stations," said a BLO in Garfa.

Pointing out how the EC duty impeded her school job, Jayita Biswas, who was a BLO in Maniktala, said, "The new academic session started in Jan. As I was away on EC duty, another teacher had to carry out my school duty, taking on extra load to cover the syllabus. I did go back to school on March 5 and finished the syllabus for the first unit test. Now, I am checking answer scripts. From April 12, central force personnel moved into our school and classes were suspended. I again had to be on EC duty for VAB training and distribution of voter slips."

But the end of the election meant a reunion with their families . "The SIR and poll-related work, which started on Nov 4, encroached on my family life, too. Finally, I can be with my family. But I hope the release date comes at the earliest," said Aurobindo Datta, a BLO in Howrah.
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