Over 300 villagers from a village in East Burdwan’s Katwa subdivision on Monday blocked a state highway for over three-and-a-half hours after almost half the voters of the village were summoned for special intensive revision (SIR) hearings over "logical discrepancies".

The villagers of Muslim-dominated Gangulydanga, which falls under the Ketugram Assembly constituency, alleged that the mass summonses were nothing but harassment. Most are either marginal farmers or migrant workers.

They blocked the Katwa–Burdwan state highway at 10am, and the protest continued till 1.35pm, till an assistant electoral registration officer (AERO) reached the site, promising to take up their issues with higher-ups.

The protesters claimed that while the total population of the village was barely 2,100, around 1,100 villagers were summoned. They said even if there were minor mistakes, the Election Commission should conduct hearings at their respective polling booths such as schools. Instead, they have been asked to go to the BDO office, 10km away from the village, for hearings.

“Almost half of our villagers have been summoned. Even elderly and ailing people, including women, have not been spared. They are citing logical discrepancies such as spelling mistakes or minor issues linked to the 2002 rolls. If that is the case, hearings should be held at our polling booths, like schools. How can we travel 10km by losing a day’s wage?” said villager Sentu Rahaman.

An official said there were nine polling booths in Gangulydanga. In two booths —numbers 281 and 282 — almost 50 per cent of the voters were summoned for hearings, he said. But the remaining seven booths, the number is less than half, around 30–40 per cent, he said.

Among the protesters, nearly half were women, who claimed that male members of their families were working outside the state.

“We were forced to hit the road in protest. My sons work outside the state. Is it possible for them to return home just for this hearing? Who will bear the travel cost?” said protester Aleya Biwi.

They demaned that they would continue their protest till their issue was resolved.

As the blockade continued, jeopardising traffic on the busy state highway, AERO Debabrata Chowdhury of the Ketugram Assembly constituency reached the spot. The villagers submitted their demand in writing to him, seeking hearings at their respective polling booths.

“The AERO said he would take up the issue with his seniors, after which we lifted the blockade,” said a protester.

A senior administrative official in East Burdwan said: “We cannot change the venue of the hearing so easily. We will forward their demand to the Election Commission. Such an arrangement can be made only after approval from top EC officials in Calcutta.”

The Trinamool Congress leadership claimed that villagers were poor and bearing the transport cost and losing wages to attend hearings posed a heavy burden on them. "Their demand is justified, as attending the hearing means losing a day’s wage,” said Rabindranath Chatterjee, East Burdwan Trinamool president and Katwa MLA. “The EC is not sparing anyone — be it Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, popular cricketers or poor villagers of Gangulydanga.'

BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya said: “It is part of a government process. The EC is calling everyone with discrepancies.”