SIR claims a life in Kerala? 44-year-old BLO dies by suicide, family alleges…
A 44-year-old Cabin Level Officer (BLO) in Kerala’s Kannur district was found dead at his home, allegedly due to mental stress due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties.
A 44-year-old Cabin Level Officer (BLO) in Kerala’s Kannur district was found dead at his home, allegedly due to mental stress due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties.
Kerala BLO dies by suicide: Is it due to SIR’s work pressure?
Aneesh George, a school employee, was carrying out SIR duties and preparing for local body polls. His family and colleagues claim he faced stress, working late hours and pressure to complete tasks. The Chief Electoral Officer has sought a report from the district collector and investigation is on. He maintained that BLOs worked collectively and no formal complaints of work pressure were received. Kelkar added that BLOs should focus solely on SIR duties for 31 days and “normally there is no possibility of additional workload”, according to PTI.
Government employees’ organizations have alleged that BLOs in Kerala are under severe stress due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties and upcoming local body elections. Despite opposition from political parties and service organisations, the Election Commission refused to postpone the SIR study, citing its importance in updating the electoral rolls. In the statement made by the organizations, “Instead, an unrealistic workload was imposed with high targets in a very short time. This pressure pushes BLOs towards suicide.” Association leaders said the SIR process should be stopped immediately to prevent more suicides.
Statewide protests on November 17
BLOs, which carried out special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala after George’s suicide, decided to boycott the work on the exercise on Monday. The State Government Employees and Teachers Action Council, the Joint Committee of Teachers Service Organizations and the Kerala NGO Association declared a boycott by announcing that the unions will not function on November 17. Government employees are also reportedly planning to stage protest marches to district collections and the Chief Electoral Officer office in Kerala.
Meanwhile, Kerala Opposition leader VD Satheeshan demanded a thorough investigation into the incident. “SIR has been initiated by the central government. The ongoing process is even more intense than the preparations for the Assembly elections,” he told PTI.
