The protests by residents against the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll continued even on Friday in multiple locations of the state, right from north to south of Bengal.

In Cooch Behar, even a section of booth-level officers (BLOs) who are believed to be close to Trinamool, resorted to protests and submitted resignations, alleging that names of genuine voters are being deleted from the list.

The Telegraph lists some of the protests which were reported on Friday across the state.

Signed slips

In South Dinajpur, voters attending the SIR at Bansihari High School in Buniadpur town of the district staged a protest, while alleging that the administration was not issuing acknowledgement slips bearing official signatures and seals, following document verification.

The protest led to the suspension of hearings for nearly an hour.

According to the protesters, only blank or unsigned photocopied receipt slips were being handed over, which they claimed held no official validity. They questioned the purpose of such receipts, stating that without an official seal or signature, there was no proof that they had attended the hearing.

Following the agitation, senior police officers, along with police personnel, reached the spot. They spoke to the agitators, the situation was brought under control, and the hearing resumed.

Police personnel have been deployed in the area.

To prevent any untoward incident, police personnel have been deployed at the school premises.

Inclusion of names

A group of residents of a blockade on the rail track along the Howrah –Katwa route near the Paruldanga level crossing, which is adjacent to Samudragarh railway station in East Burdwan district, is demanding changes in the SIR process.

The protesters demanded that the names of all Indian citizens be included unconditionally under SIR, and that the names of voters already present in the electoral roll should be retained without alteration.

They alleged that people were being harassed in the name of SIR and insisted that if hearings were required, they should be conducted within the local areas instead of distant centres.

The protest programme was organised jointly by members of the civil society and different Muslim organisations.

Due to the blockade, the local train between Howrah and Katwa was halted from 7.50 am to 8.02 am.

As the news spread, personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) reached the spot. They spoke to the agitators and managed to clear the track after some time, followed by the resumption of train services.

Harassment charge

Trinamool Congress organised road blockades in multiple areas of the Dinhata sub-division of Cooch Behar, including Nayarhat, Gobrachhara and Kharubhash Bazar. The blockades, which began around 9 am, continued for nearly two-and-a-half hours.

TMC leaders who attended the blockades accused the EC of unnecessary harassment of common people in the name of SIR.

“The way the Election Commission is functioning at the behest of the BJP is inhuman. Every day, people are standing in long queues at BDO offices. There is no realistic plan for how many hearings can be conducted in a day. The hearing process has become a farce,” said NB development minister Udayan Guha, who is from Dinhata.

In Sujali of Islampur under North Dinajpur district, a section of voters staged a road blockade, alleging harassment. Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

BLOs quit

Members of the BLO Raksha Committee launched a sit-in protest at the premises of the Dinhata-II BDO office in Sahebganj of Cooch Behar district and also submitted a mass resignation letter to the BDO.

“We were left with no option but to submit mass resignations. There are 225 BLOs here. Today, 120 have signed. The rest will submit their resignations gradually,” said Shahjamal Hossain, a protesting BLO.

In their joint resignation letter, they stated that they are professional teachers and, due to continuous engagement in SIR work, they are being forced to neglect classroom teaching, thereby affecting children’s right to education. The situation, they said, has left them mentally and morally distressed.