The Election Commission is likely to hold a special camp for sex workers amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The camp will be held at Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, on December 2 and 3, PTI reported citing an official.
The decision came after reports of people in the city's red-light districts facing difficulties in completing SIR enumeration forms.
The initial phase of voter list revision will continue until December 4 and the draft voter list will be ready to be published on December 9.
"Despite this timeline, the Commission has decided to conduct the Sonagachi camps before the preliminary phase ends," the official said.
On November 21, three organisations supporting sex workers — the Society of Human Development and Social Action, the Usha Multipurpose Co-operative Society Limited, and Amra Padatik — sent an email to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) detailing extensive issues they had observed in the voter enumeration process.
"Their concerns prompted CEO Manoj Agarwal to promise special hearing facilities in red-light districts, including Sonagachi. The CEO also indicated he might personally attend one of the camps," the official said.
Amra Padatik advocacy officer Mahasweta Mukherjee said sex workers were facing difficulties in SIR in several areas. He visited the CEO office and submitted a letter highlighting SIR-related issues in Sonagachhi, Sethbagan, Rambagan, Jorabagan, Khidderpore, Kalighat, and Bowbazar.
"The CEO instructed district election officers and electoral registration officers to deploy officials to assist sex workers in the red-light areas," he said.
TMC panel meets CEC
A delegation of Trinamool Congress on Friday met CEC Gyanesh Kumar to discuss their apprehensions regarding the Bengal SIR. The 10-member panel alleged that CEC Kumar was having "blood on his hands", amid allegations of deaths related to the SIR process in West Bengal.
They also accused that their concerns were not addressed by the top poll body.
