West Bengal BLO Dies Amid Electoral Roll Revision; Family Points to Work Pressure
BLO Samprita Choudhury Sanyal dies in Malda; family blames excessive SIR workload pressure.
In a tragic incident in West Bengal’s Malda district, Samprita Choudhury Sanyal, a booth-level officer (BLO), passed away on Wednesday, with her family attributing her death to excessive work pressure under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The deceased was reportedly unwell for several days but continued working despite medical advice to rest.
According to her husband, Samprita’s health deteriorated as the workload from the SIR process increased. “Her condition worsened as the pressure mounted. She died at our residence in the early hours of Wednesday,” he said. She was also an ICDS worker and had been serving as BLO for booth number 163 in the Englishbazar Municipality area.
The deceased resided in the Phulbari Pakurtala area of Malda. Following the incident, Trinamool Congress councillor Gayatri Ghosh visited the family and raised concerns about the extreme stress BLOs face during the SIR process. She alleged that the workload was impacting the health of several officers across the district.
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Reacting to the incident, BJP South Malda organisational district president Ajay Gangopadhyay stated, “Any death is unfortunate, but it is not right to place all the blame on the Election Commission. Local Trinamool leaders and elected representatives also pressure BLOs, particularly regarding the deletion of fake voters.”
The Election Commission has yet to officially comment on the matter. The incident has sparked discussions on the physical and mental stress faced by BLOs during intensive electoral exercises, raising calls for better work management and health safeguards.
Authorities in Malda have said that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Samprita Choudhury Sanyal’s death is underway. The case highlights the demanding nature of electoral duties, especially during processes like the SIR, which involve updating and verifying extensive voter lists.
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