BLOs hold protest outside Bengal CEO's office over 'excessive' work pressure under SIR
Kolkata (PTI): Booth-level officers, engaged in the ongoing SIR process in West Bengal, scuffled with police personnel on Monday while trying to enter the CEO's office here during a demonstration to protest against alleged excessive work pressure, a senior officer said.
Members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee took out the procession from College Square in north Kolkata, carrying locks and fetters to symbolically close the main entrance of the building in which the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is housed.
The demonstrators tried to breach police barricades to enter the CEO's office in central Kolkata, the officer said.
The protesting BLOs raised slogans against the Election Commission, alleging that they were forced to hold the procession as the "poll panel did not respond to their complaints of intense and inhuman work pressure during the SIR exercise".
"BLOs have been directed to complete tasks within a short period, though the same work usually takes more than two years," a functionary claimed.
The committee also alleged that BLOs were falling sick and two of them died by suicide due to stress.
The BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee had earlier announced that para-teachers, college professors and teachers from several organisations would join the march to press for immediate intervention by the Election Commission.
House-to-house enumeration under the SIR began on November 4 and will continue till December 4, with draft rolls scheduled for publication on December 9.
The committee warned that if deadlines are not extended or corrective steps are not taken, it will launch a continuous protest programme.
Meanwhile, another organisation, BLO Oikya Mancha, had separately flagged issues related to the digitisation of enumeration forms and demanded additional support staff.
It had submitted a deputation on November 22.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
