Intense Workload Sparks Crisis Among West Bengal's Election Officials

In West Bengal, the intense workload during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has allegedly led to severe stress among Booth Level Officers (BLOs), with distressing incidents including a BLO's hospitalization, and a purported suicide due to work pressure, prompting calls for workload management.

In West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) was hospitalized due to alleged work-related stress amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, as reported by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders.

Despite claims from Kamal Naskar's family about his severe mental and physical strain, working late hours to upload data, a senior police officer stated no hospitalisation report had been received. Naskar's brother, also a BLO, highlighted the pressure his sibling faced in preparing electoral forms by November 26.

TMC leaders have accused election authorities of imposing unmanageable workloads on BLOs, citing multiple deaths and health crises. A rally by a group of BLOs protested their harsh working conditions. Meanwhile, a tragic incident in Nadia district added to the crisis, with a BLO found dead, allegedly due to work-related pressure.

(With inputs from agencies.)