The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Kerala faced major disruption on Monday as booth-level officers (BLOs) staged a statewide boycott following the suicide of a colleague, allegedly due to work-related pressure.
Aneesh George, 44, a BLO from Payyannur, Kannur, was found hanging at his residence on Sunday. Family members and local residents said George had been under severe strain related to the SIR exercise, which required visiting numerous households and meeting strict deadlines.
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Various trade unions of state government employees, including the Action Council of State Government Employees and Teachers and the Joint Committee of Teacher Service Organisations, held protests at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Thiruvananthapuram and district collectorates. They demanded that authorities ease the workload on BLOs and consider postponing the SIR.
The Kerala NGO Association also joined the protests, calling for a halt to the SIR process to prevent further tragedies. George’s body was handed over to his family following the postmortem on Monday.
“He did not even have proper time for meals or rest. The workload was extremely stressful,” said Saiju, George’s brother-in-law. He added that George was regularly contacted by senior officers for updates. “His father had told him not to worry about losing his job due to the pressure.”
