Across the district, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are presently engaged in intensive work to complete and upload the district-wise SIR forms. One such location—Booth No. 17/123 in Jalpaiguri district—covers an estimated population of 2,500, including approximately 800 eligible voters.
To ensure that not a single voter is deprived of their constitutional right, BDO Mihir Sarkar of Jalpaiguri Sadar Block, accompanied by BLO Gautam Sarkar and his team, undertook a challenging journey to Bahirchar, a remote village situated on the Teesta River Char.
The BDO and BLO were seen crossing the shallow river bed on tractor to reach Bhirchar village along the banks of river Teesta.
Jalpaiguri district is known for its forests and tea gardens; however, several extremely remote settlements lie on the shifting river islands of the Teesta. Bahirchar is one of the most isolated settlements in the region, without road access and reachable only by boat during the monsoon or on foot across the Char during winter.
Despite these difficult conditions, the BDO and his team made the journey on a tractor, crossing uneven river terrain to reach the village.
Despite these challenging conditions, the BDO personally travelled with the BLO team on a tractor, crossed the river terrain, and reached the village to ensure that residents’ names were accurately recorded in the SIR forms. A temporary booth was set up on-site, where the team completed form submissions for every villager before making the difficult return journey.
Local residents expressed deep appreciation for this initiative. Without this intervention, they would have had no means to submit their SIR forms due to the lack of basic facilities such as photocopying or photography.
Village resident Pradeep Sen shared his gratitude, noting that the BDO travelled nearly 12 kilometres from town to reach Bahirchar and personally assess their situation. The community acknowledges and values this exceptional effort to secure their democratic rights.
