Kolkata: With no inkling that the Bengal CEO would seek an extension of the hearing deadline by a week on Saturday evening, the SIR process in Kolkata that had appeared to draw to a close on Saturday afternoon witnessed scenes of both urgency and exhaustion across hearing centres.
Some venues witnessed last-minute surge of voters anxious to correct discrepancies in their electoral records, others appeared comparatively quiet, having already completed most hearings in the past few weeks. While the extension will come as a relief to some voters who may have missed the earlier dealine, it will also keep AEROs and BLOs on tenterhooks till the extended deadline is over.
At several locations on Saturday, queues began forming well before hearings officially started. At Rani Rashmoni High School on SN Banerjee Road, voters lined up from as early as 11 am, even though the hearing started at 1 pm. BLOs from multiple parts of the ward worked through the day as the crowd surged.
"Almost 550 people were expected from different parts on Saturday. We have hearings almost every day, but the centre was crowded over the last few days," said Ananda Das, an AERO at the centre.
As the day progressed, those waiting in the queue started getting impatient due to the slow pace of hearings and the high number of cases being handled. Diwakar Sharma, a resident of Doctor Lane in Taltala, arrived at the centre around 2 pm, only to be told that additional documents were required. "There was a mismatch between my name and my father's name, for which I was called for the hearing. I forgot to get my birth certificate, so I returned home and fetched it," said Sharma.
Asma Khatoon, 45, a resident of Smith Lane, said she waited for nearly two hours for her turn. "The process was incredibly slow. I arrived at 12.30 pm, but I waited till 2.15 pm. I had to return home and cook lunch too, but since it was supposed to be the last day, I had to stay back and complete the process," said Khatoon.
Muttylall Seal's Free College was another centre that saw heavy footfall on Saturday. By 2.45 pm, more than 325 people were in the queue. Staff members from different parts of ward 43 were seen coordinating to manage the rush.
At City College on Amherst Street, people started queuing up for their SIR hearings from 2 pm. A last-minute rush was seen as BLOs attended to voters, collected documents from them, and answered queries. "Most of the SIR hearings were complete. Only 67 were scheduled on Saturday," said Moumita Baral, a BLO of Jorasanko constituency.
Siblings Purvi and Saksham Jaiswal queued up in front of City College on Saturday for their SIR hearings, while their cousin sister's marriage functions were going on in full swing at their home. Saksham said, "We got a notice pointing out that our names do not match with our father. After writing the correct spelling in the enumeration form, I do not know how my name was misspelt."
Aliah University on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road has been one of the busiest centres but on Saturday, it was a contrasting picture, with very few people appearing for the hearing. Chowringhee constituency AERO Iqbal Hashim Ansary said: "Only 15-20 pending cases were called for hearing on Saturday. We wanted to avoid the last-minute rush in SIR hearings.BLO Bidyut Mondal shared that he felt "relaxed" as the hearings were over.