Election Commission will open 160 special hearing centers for marginalized people under SIR in Bengal.

Kolkata, January 05: The Election Commission has taken a major step to ensure that marginalized communities are not deprived of voting rights during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) in West Bengal. The Commission has decided to set up 160 special decentralized hearing centers in selected districts of the state.

According to officials associated with the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, these 160 centers will be opened in the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Purulia, West Medinipur, Bankura, Nadia, West Burdwan, Howrah and North 24 Parganas. If necessary, some such centers can also be established in the coastal areas of South 24 Parganas.

Sources said that the District Magistrates of these districts, who are also the District Election Officers, had sent the proposal to open such special centers in their respective areas to the Election Commission through the Chief Electoral Officer. Considering the validity of the demand, the Commission has approved the proposal.

According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, since the inception of SIR, the Election Commission has been sensitive to ensure that people from marginalized communities are not excluded from the voter list due to procedural complexities. For this reason, special relaxation has been given for them from time to time. The decision to open 160 hearing centers is being considered as the latest step in this direction.

These centers will be set up as temporary hearing camps in remote areas for one or a few days. In these camps, the election officers themselves will reach the spot and listen to the people, so that they do not face any problem in coming to the headquarters.

Earlier, the Commission had also announced special relaxation in the matter of identity documents for sex workers, people of transgender community and ascetics. The Commission has clarified that in the cases of these categories, identity documents will not be strictly followed as in the case of general voters, so that no eligible citizen is deprived of voting rights.