SIR: Frustrated Hyderabad voters queue at polling stations amid BLO delays

With less than three weeks left for the Special Intensive Revision deadline, many Hyderabad voters say Booth Level Officers have not visited their homes. Residents are instead travelling to polling stations to collect enumeration forms, raising concerns about completing the process on time.

Hyderabad: With not even three weeks remaining to meet the deadline for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, anxiety has escalated among voters in the city. Many residents complained of extended wait for the BLOs who were supposed to come for door-to-door verification, but did not turn up so far. After a futile wait, several voters were seen heading to their polling stations for the forms.

P Subramanyam, a resident of Anand Nagar Colony in Khairatabad, said the family has been waiting at home, but no BLO has visited so far. “We are five voters, and I made a vain bid to contact the BLO over the phone to get the enumeration forms,” he said.

Another resident of Khairatabad, B Jagadeesh, said he had visited his nearby polling station twice to obtain enumeration forms as the BLOs did not visit his house. “Next week, my family is going to Ayodhya, and we are desperate to complete the process as early as possible,” he added.

A resident of Mothi Nagar, Vishnu Kumar, said, “Almost 10 days have passed, but to date, no BLS has visited my house. I am trying to download them online, but I can’t get them.”

On Sunday, at a polling station at Natraj Nagar in Borabanda, voters were receiving enumeration forms, and a BLO said the voters were asked to collect the enumeration form at the polling station concerned. “If I go door-to-door, there are chances of missing voters, and that’s why I decided to be available here, which is convenient for the voters also,” the BLO said.

At a polling station in Kalyan Nagar Phase 1, too, voters were seen flocking to the polling station, and the BLO concerned said, “We are not supposed to give the enumeration forms at the polling station, but voters are coming here and seeking the forms.”