Hyderabad: Residents of Barkas in Old City of Hyderabad were taken by surprise when they visited Qurmushi School in Chandrayangutta Assembly constituency and found a Booth Level Officer (BLO) of the Election Commission with no knowledge of how to map voters.
The voters were there to help the BLOs identify their names in the 2002 electoral polls as part of the pre Special Intensive Revision (SIR) mapping exercise.
“About 20 of us were waiting at the school in Barkas. When we spoke to him, we realised he did not even know the role of a BLO,” said Syed Jalaluddin Zafar, an activist who was helping out residents with the mapping process.
The video recorded by Zafar has since gone viral online.
It has to be noted that there are no restrictions or prohibitions on sanitation workers from being appointed as BLOs. However, guidelines suggest that the roles have to be filled by govt staff such as teachers, Anganwadi workers, clerks, bill collectors – those who have basic literacy skills and administrative experience.
One of the sanitation workers said that he was handed a smart phone to carry out the work. He further stated that at least ten other sanitation workers have been hired for the exercise. “We were asked to open the portal on the phone and give it to the person, who will then enter his or her details into a form. I was asked to put a tick. I attended a training session, where they promised me payment.”
He noted that he cannot read or write Telugu or English. “We were just asked to put a tick if their name appeared. It has been two days since we started this work,” he said.
ERO responds, says error due to acute shortage of staff:
Responding to the controversy, Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) V Surender said that the appointments have been made due to the acute shortage of staff. “Many personnel have retired and we are facing staff shortage. This is a stop-gap arrangement. They will be replaced soon,” he said.