A second West Bengal teacher died by suicide, allegedly due to stress from mandatory voter list revision duties. Rinku Tarafdar, 54, a teacher and Booth-Level Officer (BLO), was found dead in Krishnanagar, Nadia district, on Saturday. Teacher organizations demand Rs 1 crore compensation and a government job for her family from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
This follows another teacher’s suicide in Jalpaiguri district earlier this week. Reports also cite other BLOs collapsing from stress and overwork. Teacher groups insist the ECI must compensate families in all cases where BLOs die due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work.
Teachers as Booth-Level Officers
Teachers in West Bengal now serve as BLOs for the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. Their duties include distributing, collecting, verifying, and digitizing voter enumeration forms. Anamika Chakraborty, a maths and physical science teacher in Rajarhat, North 24 Parganas, spends her entire day on SIR work. She is not teaching classes. This work involves door-to-door visits and digital uploading of forms.
Previously, Anganwadi workers largely filled the BLO role. This year, secondary and primary school teachers bear the primary responsibility. Teachers report they received no training to handle the intense pace.
Tight Deadlines and Threats
Teacher organizations criticize the ECI for increasing pressure and shortening deadlines. The deadline for SIR work changed from December 4 to November 25 . Kinkar Adhikari, from Shikshanuragi United Association, stated the work requires three to four months, not 15 days. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) threaten BLOs with job loss for incomplete work. The ECI appears unconcerned about worker welfare, Adhikari added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the pressure on BLOs “inhuman.” She wrote to the ECI demanding an immediate halt to the ongoing SIR exercise. Banerjee stated the current pace of work is impossible without risking more tragedies.
Slow, Glitchy Technology
The mobile application provided by the ECI for digitizing voter data causes significant problems. Teachers report the app is slow and glitchy. Anamika Chakraborty stated data loss occurs if calls interrupt work on the app. Data updates are lost, requiring teachers to restart work. Sanjay Kumar Nashkar, a Bangla teacher from Ramnagar High School, also experienced data erasing due to incoming calls.
Teachers feel under-equipped and untrained for this digital data entry role. Training sessions were rushed, offering no practical drills or mock uploads. Teachers must figure out solutions themselves or call colleagues for help. Nashkar stated, “We are not typists. We are teachers. But now we have to become data-entry operators, and on a phone.”
Impact on Education
SIR duties disrupt regular teaching schedules. Sanjay Kumar Nashkar rushed through Bengali grammar syllabus sections. Students contact him, worried about grammar lessons covered too quickly. Nashkar’s school, with nearly 2,000 students, also faces a teacher shortage. Their chemistry teacher retired but still volunteers twice weekly without pay.
The first phase of SIR work extends until December 4 . A second phase runs until January 31 . This period coincides with final exam preparations for students. Manmohan Mandal, a head teacher in Medinipur West, described his school’s challenges. His school has only 13 staff, including non-teaching personnel. There are no dedicated mathematics or science teachers. Mandal teaches both subjects to Classes 5 to 10. With SIR duties, he works from 6 am to 9 pm daily, then uploads forms at home. Verifying 450 voters in his village requires multiple visits due to scattered family names and incomplete forms.