Bhiwandi: The digitisation of electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has progressed to around 50 per cent in Bhiwandi city, while more than 75 per cent of the work has been completed in the rural constituency, according to election officials.
Data from the election department shows that digitisation has been completed for 48.20 per cent of the electoral roll in Bhiwandi East Assembly constituency and 52.11 per cent in Bhiwandi West. In Bhiwandi Rural, the progress stands at 75.34 per cent.
Under the SIR exercise, voter details are being verified and digitised using the 2002 electoral roll as the reference point. The exercise has proved more time-consuming in Bhiwandi city, where a large migrant workforce from different parts of the country has lived for years.
Officials involved in the exercise said a sizeable number of migrant workers who were residing in Bhiwandi in 2002 have since moved back to their native villages or relocated to other cities. Tracing such voters and establishing their present status has emerged as one of the key challenges in completing the verification process.
A Booth Level Officer (BLO) working in Bhiwandi East said the movement of migrant workers and people engaged in business had made the verification process more complicated. Many tenants who had previously lived in rented accommodation have moved elsewhere, leaving little information about their current whereabouts.
In some cases, officials are able to obtain information about voters who have moved out, but residents of the concerned buildings are often reluctant to sign forms related to people who no longer live there. Officials have also come across instances where people currently residing in other states have completed SIR-related formalities in their native constituencies.
Duplicate entries add to verification work
The presence of a large migrant population and business community has also brought cases of possible duplicate entries to the attention of election officials. Some workers are reportedly listed in both the electoral rolls of their native villages and Bhiwandi.
Voters who have permanently shifted from the city but whose current addresses are unavailable also require additional verification, slowing down the digitisation process.
Teachers shoulder additional responsibility
A large number of teachers have been appointed as BLOs for the SIR exercise, adding to their existing responsibilities. Along with regular teaching duties, they are required to verify voter details, conduct field visits, collect information, scrutinise forms and enter verified data online.
Teachers involved in the exercise said they often have to undertake SIR-related work after school hours and, in some cases, contact voters on holidays. They said the additional assignment has created challenges in managing their time and maintaining their regular academic responsibilities.
With Bhiwandi being an industrial city with a substantial migrant population, officials consider the verification and digitisation exercise in its urban constituencies more demanding than in rural areas. The election department now faces the task of completing the verification of the remaining voters and digitising the pending records within the stipulated timeline.
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