East Burdwan, 13 November (H.S.): A heartbreaking scene unfolded at a BLO training camp held in Katwa, East Burdwan district, on Thursday. Debashish Das, a BLO, broke down in tears during training, overwhelmed by workload and physical illness.
Debasish Das was appointed BLO of booth number 79 in Katwa. According to reports, he had been distributing SIR forms continuously for the past several days despite his illness. During a special training session on Thursday afternoon, when officials instructed him to upload voter information into the BLO app, Debashish suddenly broke down in tears. In a fit of anger and helplessness, he said, I can't do it anymore. Shoot me, kill me.
Seeing Debashish's condition, other BLOs present at the training camp also became emotional. They also complained to several officials about their workload and stress. Some BLOs even shouted slogans in front of administrative officials, protesting the excessive workload, and left the training camp midway.
According to eyewitnesses, a tearful Debashish Das said, Kartik Puja is coming up. Each entry takes 15 minutes. I have 1,100 voters, how can I fill all this in? I can't sleep or eat. My family life is ruined. Yesterday I was thinking of hanging myself. I don't want a job, just suspend me or shoot me.
This incident stunned everyone present. Seeing the BLOs' condition, several officials tried to calm them down, but the atmosphere in the camp became tense for a while.
Reacting to the incident, Katwa SDO Anirban Basu said that all the work being done by BLOs is completely in accordance with the Election Commission's instructions. He said, BLOs from all three assembly constituencies in Katwa subdivision were invited for training on the BLO app and the process of digitizing enumeration forms. Nearly 90 percent of the BLOs attended.
The SDO further stated that the training was aimed at making BLOs proficient in the technical process so that work could be completed smoothly during the upcoming elections.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
