Hyderabad: What began as a shortcut to secure jobs in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) decades ago has come back to haunt hundreds of retired workers after all these years. With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway, many now risk losing their voting rights due to mismatches between the names on their voter IDs and Aadhaar cards.Because of these discrepancies, their spouses and, in some cases, even their children are struggling to furnish the documents required to complete the SIR process.Affected employees recall how the practice of maru peru (alias names) was widespread in SCCL during the 1970s and 1980s, when many coal mine workers joined under the names of former employees. They assumed those identities by adopting not only their names but, in some cases, even their caste — on paper. They also drew salaries under those names.“This practice prevailed because a large pool of coal mine workers was recruited from villages. Since many did not possess the required qualifications, they were employed under the names of former workers who already had employment cards but had left their jobs for various reasons,” said a family member of a retired SCCL employee.According to those affected, at least 500 workers and their family members are unable to complete the SIR process, potentially leading to the exclusion of thousands of voters from the final electoral roll.“When my father joined Singareni in 1985, he left behind his original name, and the family adopted a new surname. We never imagined this would one day become a problem for my mother,” said D Kumar, a resident of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.Explaining the complexity, he said his mother’s Aadhaar card, which bears her original name and is also linked to her property documents, does not match her voter ID, which carries the new surname.Others are caught in similar situations.“Our parents have voter IDs and PAN cards in the names they used at Singareni, whereas their Aadhaar cards mostly carry their original names. Now, not just our parents but even we, the next generation, may lose our voting rights because the names in our records do not match those in our parents’ documents,” said Laka Shravan Goud, whose father recently retired from SCCL.The families are now urging the government to look into the issue, arguing that their parents were recruited under others’ identities to meet the company’s manpower requirements and should not now be penalised for it.When contacted, D Madhu, electoral registration officer for Kothagudem constituency, said he was aware of the maru peru issue and assured that it would be dealt with sensitively. “Right now, they should ensure that their enumeration forms are submitted. If we find anomalies such as mismatches in names, surnames or fathers’ names, we will issue notices later and conduct physical verification. If they can establish their identity and prove that they had an alias name by producing any of the prescribed documents, their names will be retained in the electoral rolls,” he said.BOXElsewhere in the state, the issue is also affecting several married women whose names differ across official records due to changes made after marriage. “I have three different names on three different documents, so I was not mapped during the pre-SIR exercise. This happened because my name was changed after marriage. To make matters worse, my father’s name was also missing from the 2002 electoral roll, though my mother’s name was listed. I hope they will somehow include me in the SIR process,” said Bano Begum, a 66-year-old resident of Chandrayangutta.
