Bengaluru: For lakhs of voters in Karnataka, especially those in Bengaluru, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has come as a double whammy: While many are yet to know when their hearing will be held, most of those due to receive hearing notices are still waiting for them.On Sunday, the CEO’s office uploaded a list of voters who would be served notices for hearing. However, it did not mention a date, leaving those on the list unsure when the designated BLO would visit their homes.A majority of those for whom the notices are meant have not received them yet. As of Friday, 43.8 lakh notices had been generated, but only 7.3 lakh reached the voters concerned, leaving 36.4 lakh still waiting — a whopping 83%.Officials from the CEO’s office said the staggered delivery was by design. “Those with the earliest hearing dates will be served first,” an official said, urging voters not to panic if their notices were yet to arrive.However, for many, the gap between notice and hearing is alarmingly short. Satish Mallya, president of the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF), told TOI that one voter received a notice just a day before hearing, leaving little time to arrange the required documents.Uma Mani, a resident of HSR Layout, said: “Though the notice list is out, we don’t know when or how notices will be delivered. Senior citizens are the worst affected, with some even ready to give up on SIR.”A Brights’ Street resident said his wife’s name appeared on both the draft roll and deletion list, yet she received no notice and no BLO visited her. “We have no clue on what we’re supposed to do,” he said.Document verification has added to the confusion. An Indiranagar resident said the BLO told her that her mother’s Aadhaar card could not be used for verification, despite Aadhaar being listed as an accepted identity document.“She was asked if she had an LIC policy bond. Finally, I was told to bring her bank passbook,” she said.For working professionals, hearings scheduled during office hours pose an additional challenge. “I’ve been told to attend the hearing on Sept 18, but it’s a working day. I’ll have to take at least half a day’s leave. One of my parents also has a hearing, so I may have to accompany her, which means an additional day’s leave,” said a software professional from Yelahanka.Points for GFX:SNAGS GALORE* 36.4L voters yet to receive notices for hearing* Many notices issued without the date for hearing* Some residents given just a day’s time to arrange documents* List of documents has added to the confusion* Office-hour hearings leave working professionals struggling
