Mangaluru: Missing names during SIR can be added via Form 6 - Chief electoral officer

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru Mangaluru, Jul 26: Eligible voters need not worry about losing their voting rights during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Even if a name is left out in the final electoral roll published after the SIR, voters can still apply for inclusion by submitting Form 6, stated Karnataka state chief electoral officer V Anbukumar. He was speaking at a review meeting regarding the progress of the SIR process in Dakshina Kannada district, held at the deputy commissioner's office here on Saturday, July 25. "Enumeration forms have already been distributed to voters. The digitization of the filled enumeration forms returned by voters must be expedited. If voters are unable to return the form within the stipulated time, they can apply for name inclusion under Form 6 after the publication of the final electoral roll. The prescribed documents and a declaration must be submitted along with the application," he informed. Anbukumar instructed that if voters are not at home, have relocated, are deceased, or have their names in more than one place (ASDD - Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate) during the visits by booth level officers (BLOs), such cases must be thoroughly verified and a mahazar should be conducted. A list of these should also be provided to political party agents. If changes are necessary, they should be verified and the details must be recorded. "Expediting the digitization of the filled enumeration forms will help in preparing for the publication of the draft electoral roll. Booth level officers and concerned officials must focus on this," he added. Providing statistics, deputy commissioner Darshan H V said, "There are 18,03,766 voters in the district, and enumeration forms have been distributed to everyone. In the district, 65,588 voters have been identified under the ASDD category. The digitization of 14,97,139 forms has been completed, achieving 83 per cent progress. A helpline (1950) has also been set up to help clear doubts regarding the SIR." Additional deputy commissioner K Raju and other officials participated in the meeting. Later on Saturday, the state chief electoral officer visited the polling booth at Capitanio School in the Mangaluru South assembly constituency to review the SIR process. He inspected the enumeration forms collected by the booth level officers and offered suggestions. He also expressed his appreciation for the facilities and preparations made for voters at the polling booth. Mangaluru assistant commissioner Meenakshi Arya and city corporation deputy commissioner Akshatha were present during the visit.