Local

A man declared as 'dead' in the draft electoral roll went to the Kalna Municipality in East Burdwan to collect his death certificate, which sparked off sensation today.

 

Forty year old Purna Saha - a resident of Kalinagar in Ward:12 of Kalna Municipality area has been mentioned as 'dead' in the draft roll. He, accompanying his neighbour walked into the Municipality office and demanded that the civic body should issue him his death certificate at once. He said: "It's a conspiracy. The Booth Level Officer intentionally had mentioned my name as a dead man." The SDM, Kalna, Ahimsa Jain said: "The matter has drawn my attention and I'll do the needful."

 

In Durgapur (Paschim) Assembly Constituency, 33565 names have been discarded. Nineteen voters of two booths (Nos: 70, 71) of Ward: 14 there though had submitted enumeration forms have however been marked as 'missing' voters surprisingly. 

 

Twenty three year old Rusali Singh of Natunpally of Durgapur(Paschi) segment works at a private organization in Chennai. She, like her neighbourers - Rakhi Batabyal, Shraboni Mandi and her husband Sanjib Mandi had submitted their enumeration forms. They complained: "Still we are marked as missing voters in the draft list." They were voters of Booth No: 70 there.

 

A school teacher Lakhindar Mukherjee was assigned as the Booth Level Officer of the area. After he had fallen sick, his wife Reba Mukherjee, as she claimed: "Was assisting my husband in the job without any training." One Anganwadi worker Shilpi Banik Talukdar was assigned as the Additional BLO for the ward. She said: "I didn't have any training for the job. I was helpless." She, however added: "I can recollect, I had uploaded Rusali's name."

 

At Birudiha village near Durgapur town, a BLO, Maya Konar (Booth No: 261) was thrashed allegedly by a voter Ganga Bagdi. Ganga flared up after the draft roll scrapped his name. He attacked the BLO with a piece of fallen tree branch. The BLO lodged a complaint with the BDO, Kanksa, Sourabh Gupta. The BDO said: "The police has already been told to investigate the matter."

 

 The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision has sceapped as many as 2 Lakh name in East Burdwan, as the draft electoral rolls rolled out today have revealed.

 

Sixteen Assembly segments of East Burdwan had 41,78,695 voters prior to the SIR processes had begun. The DM, East Burdwan, Ayesha Rani A said today: "After scrutiny of the submitted enumeration forms, the figure has come down to 39,70,620." Nearly 2 Lakh names have been discarded. Of them, one Lakh voters died and another 1.1 Lakh fell under no mapping category, as they, or their parents or their grandparents were not accommodated in the 2002 electoral roll. Most of such 'no mapping' category voters were detected in Bardhaman (Dakshin) Assembly Constituency (5.38 percent) and least in Mongalkote Constituency ((0.74 percent).