Malda: A 48-year-old booth-level officer (BLO) in Malda's Englishbazar died on Wednesday, with her family members alleging that she was under stress due to excessive workload in the ongoing SIR exercise.
Shamprita Choudhury Sanyal, a resident of the Phulbari Pakurtala area, succumbed last night while being taken to the hospital. Choudhury, an ICDS worker, was engaged as a BLO at Ward 18 of English Bazaar Municipality.
Her husband, Ardhendu Choudhury, said: "She was under tremendous work pressure. In this biting cold, she had to work even in open fields while collecting papers. Worse, she couldn't sleep before 2 pm. Fresh instructions from the office heightened the pressure. All this resulted in a decline in her health."
On Dec 30, she got a sore throat and developed a fever. The doctor advised her to take rest. On Tuesday evening, she developed breathing trouble. She was nebulised, which did not improve her condition. Then the family decided to take her to hospital, but she died on the way.
Gayatri Ghosh, local Trinamool councillor, said: "The inhuman pressure of the EC amid such weather took her life." However, BJP district president Ajoy Ganguly refused to blame the EC for her death.