CHENNAI: District Election Officer-cum-Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran has announced that special one-day electors’ helpdesks will be organised on November 29, from 8 am to 8 pm, at all 947 polling stations across Chennai’s 16 Assembly constituencies, allowing residents to submit their completed enumeration forms to Booth Level Officials (BLOs) as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In addition, designated desks will be set up in high-rise residential buildings that have large voter populations, the official release said.
BLOs have been conducting door-to-door distribution and collecting forms but have faced difficulties locating displaced residents from TNUHDB tenements, particularly in areas where reconstruction projects are under way. Many of these residents are temporarily living in rental accommodations at various places across the city during the reconstruction period, making it harder for BLOs to reach them.
Now, addressing such issues, the GCC has arranged additional helpdesks within these high-rise housing apartments, or complexes on November 29, making form submission more accessible. The election officer has urged all voters to make use of the helpdesks and submit their filled-up forms well before the deadline of December 4, to ensure their inclusion in the draft electoral rolls, which will be published on December 9.
To assist voters, helpdesks were already operated from November 18-25 at all polling stations, enabling residents to clarify form-related queries. A major number of forms were collected during this period, the release said.