Calcutta, May 28: Come September, electoral rolls and polling booths will just be an SMS away.

Those hunting for their names on the electoral rolls or clueless about their polling station can get all the information by sending a message from cellphones to a designated number when the next round of revision of electoral rolls takes place in September.

“We have already created a sample and tested it. It is expected that by September, the SMS-based query can be introduced,” Manas Roy, deputy manager (systems) of Webel Technology Limited, said today.

The sample test was exhibited in New Delhi on Wednesday where representatives of several states met Rajesh Agarwal, the Election Commission’s director of information technology.

Webel, overseeing the SMS project for the Bengal government, is discussing the matter with officials of various mobile service providers. “The sample was shown in Delhi and was well appreciated,” Roy said.

According to the system, a person will have to send her/his voters’ photo-identity card number to a given number. The reply message will give the name of the polling station.

If a person does not have a photo-identity card, the name of the Assembly constituency and part number can be sent.

A reply message will also indicate that the name of the person is on the electoral roll, Roy said, adding that voters will be informed if their names are not found.

“The most important benefit of the SMS query system is that it will save voters a lot of time. They don’t have to go to local offices to check the electoral list. It is expected to be accepted well chiefly because of its simplicity.”