Two BLOs die across two districts in Madhya Pradesh; kin allege SIR survey work pressure

Raisen/Damoh: Two teachers-cum-Booth Level Officers (BLOs) tasked with conducting voter list survey for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) died of "illness" in Raisen and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, officials said.

Relatives and friends of the deceased teachers-cum-BLOs, however, blamed heavy workload and pressure to meet enumeration targets as the reasons for the deaths.

Separately, a BLO has been missing for the past six days in the Raisen district, and efforts are underway to trace him, officials said.

The two BLOs who died on Friday late night were identified as Ramakant Pandey and Sitaram Gond (50). They were posted in Raisen and Damoh districts, respectively.

"Ramakant Pandey, a teacher from the Satlapur area, was working on the voter list revision drive in Mandideep. He died late Friday night due to some illness," sub-divisional officer (SDO) and electoral registration officer of Bhojpur Assembly constituency, Chandrashekhar Shrivastava, told PTI on Saturday.

We are waiting for the postmortem report, he said when asked about the exact cause behind Pandey's death.

Shrivastava said the missing BLO was identified as Narayan Das Soni, a teacher residing in Bhavya City. He has been missing for six days after leaving home without informing anyone. Police and family members of Soni are searching for him, the officer added.

Meanwhile, deceased Pandey's wife, Rekha, and other family members told officials that he was posted at the primary school in Tilakhedi and assigned voter list duties..

They claimed he struggled with a heavy workload, which forced him to put in extra hours every night to finish assignments.. They claimed Pandey received constant instructions over the phone to meet deadlines.

He feared suspension if targets were unmet and had not slept for the past four nights, Rekha Pandey claimed.

"He (Ramakant Pandey) joined an online meeting around 9.30 PM on Thursday and collapsed soon after going to the bathroom. He was first taken to Noble Hospital in Bhopal and later shifted to AIIMS, where doctors declared him dead", they said..

SDO Shrivastava said Pandey's family members will receive assistance and a compassionate appointment as per rules.

In Damoh district, Gond, a teacher working as BLO in Ranjra village, fell ill on Thursday evening while filling enumeration forms, District Education Officer S K Nema told PTI on Saturday.

"He was taken to the district hospital in Damoh and referred to Jabalpur district for advanced health care in a critical condition, where he died during treatment on Friday night", the officer said.

Gond's friends claimed he had been assigned enumerator duties in Ranjra and Kuda Kudan villages. He was under pressure as he was supposed to cover 1,319 voters, but could complete only 13 per cent of the work.

Earlier, BLO Shyam Sundar Sharma was killed in a road accident in Tendukheda under the Jabera assembly segment of Damoh district. His family had alleged that he was under severe pressure due to SIR work and had been threatened with suspension.