Kolkata: Confused, anxious, and scared of being left out of the voters' list, hundreds of elderly residents thronged the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) help desks across the city — from Hind Cinema near Wellington Square to Harokali Colony in South Dum Dum and Panditya Road off Rashbehari Avenue.
The help desks, most of which operate between morning and afternoon and again in the evening, have been set up by various groups like political parties and NGOs to assist voters in the revision process. The centres received an overwhelming response, with locals thronging and volunteers struggling to manage the constant flow of people and questions. "Many ask why they have to fill out forms again if they've been voting regularly, or what happens if they don't submit one at all," said Rajib Saha, a volunteer.
"Every applicant has new questions — and we're trying our best to keep up."
Senior citizens arrived with bundles of documents. "I wanted to finish this before going to Allahabad. If the BLO comes after I leave, I might lose my chance," said 55-year-old Chandana Kanjilal. Indrani Saha, 51, who lives between South Dum Dum and Barasat, shared her worries: "The rules keep changing. I just don't want to miss anything."
Shankarlal Ghosh, 82, was too feeble to drag himself to the help desk set up near Hind Cinema and felt that the entire operation should have been online only, with volunteers helping elderly people to fill out the online form.
Debobrata Mustafi, 78, said, "The time is too short for filling up, rectification, and publication of the final list. Why couldn't ECI do the exercise a year ago?" Volunteer Saha said that on an average, each desk is visited by 200 applicants daily. Each applicant has their own new set of questions. For many, the experience was daunting.
Dipak Saha, 55, complained that his enumeration form had not arrived yet. "They said my number is 75, but the BLOs have only reached number 64," he said.
Subroto Saha, 60, was puzzled over his wife's transfer of name from Baranagar to Dum Dum after marriage. "We don't know what to do next," he sighed. Seventy-five-year-old Amala Banerjee, frail and ailing, came to collect her form. "I don't know if the BLO came. I got panicked," she said.