A profound sense of concern and grief has swept through the teaching community in Madhya Pradesh following the deaths of two government school teachers, both deployed as booth-level officers (BLOs) , within
a 24-hour span. The teachers were working under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, an exercise that has drawn some criticism over its immense workload and strict deadlines.
The two deceased BLOs were identified as Ramakant Pandey from the Raisen district and Sitaram Gond (50) from the Damoh district. While district officials claimed the deaths were due to “illness”, the families and colleagues of the deceased have reportedly alleged that unbearable work pressure and the constant fear of suspension were the primary contributing factors.
The family of Ramakant Pandey, who was assigned duty in the Mandideep area of Raisen, claimed he was severely stressed due to the heavy workload, which forced him to work extra hours every night to meet targets. His wife, Rekha Pandey, stated he had not slept for four nights, was receiving constant instructions over the phone to meet deadlines, and feared suspension if the targets were unmet. Pandey reportedly collapsed after attending a late-night online meeting on Thursday.
Sitaram Gond, a teacher in Damoh, who was tasked with enumeration duties in Ranjra and Kuda Kudan villages, fell ill on Thursday while filling out enumeration forms. He was rushed for advanced treatment to Jabalpur, where he passed away on Friday night. His colleagues claimed he was under severe pressure, as he had to cover over 1,300 voters but had managed to complete only a fraction of the work.
Observers say these tragedies in Madhya Pradesh are part of a worrying pattern being reported across several states where the SIR exercise is underway. Another teacher-cum-BLO in Madhya Pradesh, Bhuvan Singh Chouhan, had reportedly collapsed and died days earlier after being suspended for alleged negligence of duty, with his family also blaming stress related to the SIR. In the Datia district, another BLO allegedly died by suicide earlier in November, with the family citing the same reason—the inability to cope with the stress of the revision work.
The role of a BLO involves rigorous door-to-door verification, distributing forms, collecting updated voter details, and managing online data digitisation, often adding immense responsibility to the teachers’ core duties. While district authorities have promised assistance and compassionate appointments to the bereaved families, the multiple fatalities have amplified demands from teacher associations and opposition parties for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to review the workload and implementation timeline of the SIR process to prevent further loss of life.
