Kolkata, Dec 9 The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal, on Tuesday, organised a special camp for sex workers in Sonagachi, the largest red light area of the country.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal and other Election Commission's officials were present at the camp to help sex workers fill out enumeration forms for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal's electoral rolls.
Speaking to a section of media persons, the CEO said, "The Election Commission has been thinking of holding this special camp to address issues arising out of receiving, filling out and submission of enumeration forms. There are about 12,000 voters in the Sonagachi area. As these marginalised people were unable to come to us, we decided to come to their area to help them with the process. If they do not have any of the 12 documents listed by the commission, then their case will be considered, and if necessary, the matter can be seen as an exception."
The CEO assured that the camp would be held for two days and many sex workers who are ashamed of coming forward to clarify their doubts from officials will be reached out to by the Commission.
The CEO said that about 3,600 of them who have not yet received enumeration forms will be assisted by the Booth Level Officers in getting them filled out and submitted.
"We have been given special powers to include women who were not in the 2002 electoral roll but have voted in 2021 and 2024. Their names will be covered by December 11," Agarwal said.
The CEO also said, "For those who had not voted in all those years, but have other proofs as citizens, we will ensure they submit Form-6 with annexures from December 16 and have their names included in the final electoral roll, which will be published on February 14. We have the target to ensure that not a single eligible voter's name is left out of the final roll. We will protect the democratic rights of every bona fide resident of India."
The CEO added that even those unable to furnish their relatives' documents need not panic, as verification would be done through local residents and registered NGOs working in the area.
Incidentally, three voluntary organisations -- 'Society of Human Development and Social Action', 'Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited' and 'Amra Padatik' -- working for sex workers and their children wrote to CEO Agarwal, informing them about the problems faced by sex workers related to the enumeration form.
They had said many sex workers are afraid to fill out the enumeration form and are even fleeing the brothels out of fear.
They requested the Election Commission to organise a camp to quell their fears and help them submit the forms to retain their names in the electoral rolls.
The CEO's office took up the matter with the District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers of the areas and decided to organise a special camp in Sonagachi in Kolkata.
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