Hyderabad: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began with contrasting scenes on Thursday, showing brisk distribution of enumeration forms in rural Telangana, while Hyderabad and several key urban constituencies witnessed a slow start due to printing glitches and administrative issues.In Hyderabad, enumeration forms printed in Telugu had to be withdrawn and replaced with English versions after requests from certain constituencies. Distribution was also delayed in Dubbak following a change in the electoral registration officer (ERO).By 5 pm, officials reported that about 12 lakh forms had been distributed out of the 3.38 crore forms scheduled to be delivered across the state. The number was expected to rise further by night.Chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy described the delays as “initial hiccups” and assured that distribution would begin in the remaining constituencies on Friday.“Distribution of enumeration forms is going on well. In Hyderabad, it did not begin in two to three assembly constituencies because of printing issues. It also did not start in LB Nagar in Rangareddy district. In Dubbak, there was an issue concerning the change of ERO. The ECI has confirmed the appointment of the ERO. Booth-level officers (BLOs) will start distributing the forms in all these constituencies on Friday,” he told TOI.He said the election commission’s target was to complete the distribution within seven to eight days.The process was also affected in several areas as Anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwives, who are serving as BLOs, were simultaneously engaged in the Pulse Polio programme.Several Hyderabad residents complained that BLOs had not visited their homes. N V Kumar, a resident of Moosapet, said, “We have not received the SIR enumeration forms. We tried to contact BLOs, but they said they are distributing in certain areas where political parties and their agents are active.”Officials, however, maintained that the exercise was incident-free and would gain momentum from Friday onwards.GHMC commissioner R V Karnan confirmed that English forms were being reprinted for constituencies that had initially received Telugu versions.“In some constituencies in Hyderabad, enumeration forms were printed in Telugu. These constituencies requested English forms, which are now being printed,” he said.Karnan added that the collection of completed forms would begin after a week and continue until July 24. The draft electoral rolls will be published on July 31.“Even people who possess EPIC cards must submit the SIR enumeration forms. Whoever fills and returns the form will have their name included in the draft rolls. Claims and objections will be received from July 31. BLOs will verify the information submitted by electors,” he said.
