KOLKATA: West Bengal on Wednesday recorded another death of a Booth Level Officer (BLO), allegedly due to excessive workload and stress triggered by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. With this, the number of BLO deaths in the state since November last year has risen to seven. Family members of the deceased have alleged that all of them succumbed to unbearable work pressure, stress and strain caused by the SIR exercise, which began on 4 November.
On Wednesday, Samprita Chowdhury Sanyal, an ICDS worker from Pakurtala in the Englishbazar area of Malda district, died at her residence.
Her husband alleged, “She fell ill a few days ago and was undergoing treatment. Apart from her regular duties as an ICDS worker, she was also assigned work for the SIR exercise as a BLO. She could not tolerate the tremendous work pressure of the electoral roll revision process. Although the doctor advised her to take rest for a few days, there was no scope for that as she remained busy with SIR work in addition to her ICDS duties. She died early this morning.”
The first BLO death was reported in East Bardhaman district in the first week of November. Ten days later, a second case occurred in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal, where a woman BLO died by suicide. On 21 November, a third BLO also died by suicide in Nadia district.
The fourth death was reported from Murshidabad district, where a BLO died of cardiac arrest. On 28 December, the fifth BLO died by suicide in Bankura district, while the sixth case was reported from Cooch Behar last Saturday.
Wednesday’s death has further intensified the ongoing spat between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP in the state.
Local Trinamool Congress councillor Gayatri Ghosh of ward number 15 under the Englishbazar Municipality in Malda accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being responsible for Samprita’s death.
“She died due to unbearable work pressure and stress generated by the rigorous SIR duties, in addition to her daily ICDS work schedule,” Ghosh alleged.
However, the BJP’s Malda district unit rejected the allegations. Ajay Ganguly, a district BJP leader, said, “Every death is shocking, but it is unfortunate to hold the Election Commission responsible for each death of BLOs. The Trinamool Congress strategy is to create psychological pressure among BLOs by accusing the Election Commission of such deaths.”
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
