Hyderabad: Ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana and other states, the mapping as part of the pre-exercise process faces criticism over untrained Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
Recently, an incident came to light in the Chandrayangutta Assembly constituency at polling station number 101 in Barkas at Qurmushi School wherein it is alleged that.
Recently, people who visited Qurmushi School in Barkas to meet the BLO of polling station number 101 of Chandrayangutta Assembly Constituency found that he lacks knowledge of the mapping process.
People also alleged that the BLO is a sanitation worker who had no knowledge of the exercise.
BLOs lack knowledge of SIR mapping in Hyderabad
It is not an isolated incident; in many areas, BLOs are not clear about the mapping process. Some are saying that progeny mapping is not possible if the voter’s age is more than 40 years, while others are not clear about the relatives allowed for the exercise.
In many awareness camps, PA of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed, said that some BLOs are mapping married women with their fathers-in-law, which is not allowed in the exercise.
Apart from it, many residents are alleging that some BLOs in Hyderabad are not responding to their calls and are delaying the mapping process.
As there is no process of acknowledgment after mapping, people are also concerned whether it was done correctly, as many BLOs asked voters to send details on WhatsApp and the process was completed remotely.
How mapping is done?
Mapping is a pre-SIR exercise that is taking place in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana.
During the process, voters can map themselves, if their names are listed in the 2002 SIR list, or with their relatives.
For the sake of SIR, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made it clear that six relations are allowed. They are:
- Father
- Mother
- Maternal grandfather
- Maternal grandmother
- Paternal grandfather
- Paternal grandmother
Mapping cannot be done with relatives other than these. Moreover, there is no restriction on the age of the electors.
Electors of any age can map with relatives if their names are not listed in the 2002 SIR list.
The SIR exercise is expected to begin in Telangana in May.
