West Bengal BLOs breathe easy as poll dates are announced

KOLKATA: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across West Bengal, many of whom worked under intense pressure since Nov 4, finally expressed relief after the announcement of the polling dates. Of the nearly 80,000 BLOs engaged in the process, around 60,000 were drawn from primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools. As a result, the school education system was also affected during this period.

Sumedha Bhattacharya, a BLO in Shyampukur and a primary school teacher near Maniktala, said the assignment left her with little time for her family. Most of her days were spent on field visits, paperwork, and uploading documents.

"The first few days seemed extremely difficult because I did not know how to deal with this, but gradually I got used to it. It was a challenge to meet deadlines regularly, especially after tiring nights. At the same time, I gained new experiences. Today, it is a relief to know when I can return to my students," she said.

BLOs are still being given fresh assignments almost every day. Recently, they have been asked to stay in the city until the judicial scrutiny of voters is completed.

Arup Mondal, a BLO in Tollygunge, said, "The entire process, which began with enumeration for the SIR exercise and continued through the release of the electoral roll to the announcement of election dates, was carried out at a galloping pace. Till today, we did not get any breathing space. The end of our SIR burden is now in sight."

Sudipta Modok, a BLO and a teacher at a higher secondary school in Baguiati, said the declaration of poll dates brought much-needed clarity. "I worked efficiently from the beginning, met all deadlines, and uploaded documents on time, but I was eagerly waiting to know when the entire process would be completed. Other teachers took over my responsibilities, but they cannot continue carrying the extra pressure for long," she added.

A BLO from Garia said the pressure came not only from deadlines set by the EC but also from political parties.