Jaipur: Concerned about suicide of BLOs, RSS-affiliated teachers’ organization ABSRM writes to ECI
Jaipur: The Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM), an RSS-affiliated organization of teachers, has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) demanding an extension of the deadline to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who have died during the process.
The SIR is currently going on in nine states as well as three Union Territories (UTs) and the ABRSM has expressed concern regarding the pressure on BLOs, which has allegedly led some officers to commit suicide.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the organization, in its strongly-worded letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, has called the workload on the BLOs ‘unethical’ and the targets ‘unrealistic’. It has said that the teachers who are working as BLOs are facing severe pressure as well as intimidation, calling the situation contrary to the dignity of elections and disrespectful towards teaching community.
While the ABSRM admits in its letter that the SIR is crucial for India’s democratic process, it adds that teachers have been faithfully fulfilling the duty they are assigned in relation to elections. It clarifies that BLOs have been struggling to fulfill their duty as the SIR has put on them an excessive workload of 16-18 hours of daily field and portal work to be completed without technical facilities. This has led to an increase in depression and stress among the BLOs and their suicide, the organization explained to the ECI.
It has told the CEC in the letter, “Abusive behavior by officials has led to severe mental stress among BLO teachers in several states. Sadly, some cases have even resulted in tragic suicides, which not only disturb the teaching community but also represent a clear violation of human rights.
The ABSRM has complained about the BLOs being intimidated through the pressure of having to meet unrealistic targets within a very short time. Several of the officers fear loss of salary, receiving show-cause notices, chargesheets, suspensions, threats of FIRs, and abusive behavior, it has told the CEC.
Referring to the problems the BLOs face on the field, the letter states that some voters do not have documents that are decades old and therefore do not cooperate with the BLOs. It has pointed out on the failure of the ECI in educating the voters about the SIR, as a result of which, many people find the survey unnecessary.
Pointing out that BLO deaths have been reported from the states undergoing SIR, the ABSRM states that, as per the Press Information Bureau (PIB), over 5.3 lakh BLOs, 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), 10,448 EROs/AEROs and 321 DEOs have been pressed into action spanning 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies (ACs).
The organization has demanded that the ECI extend the deadline for completion of the survey, in order to make the SIR stress-free, accurate and also improve the quality.
It has also demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation and a government job for the kin of BLOs who have died prematurely or by suicide due to pressure from the SIR. ABRSM demands a high-level probe of all such cases should be and prosecution of the guilty officials.
Further, it has asked the CEC to provide technical assistants, computer operators, or associates, as well as tablets/laptops, travel allowances, etc. should also be provided to BLOs, while “officials should be given clear instructions to refrain from any kind of threats, harassment, abusive language or punitive action.”
ABRSM says that BLOs should be provided “respectable additional honorarium as per the workload and challenges” and that “additional BLOs should be deployed in inaccessible hilly, desert and remote areas.”
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
