More than 9,400 migrant workers from West Bengal living in Bengaluru have returned to their hometowns after receiving the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) notices, according to the Karnataka Bengali Kalyan Samiti, formed by and for West Bengal-based workers in Bengaluru.
Most of the families working in the city, majorly from Nadia and Murshidabad, said that the short timelines mentioned in the notices left little time to arrange funds, forcing many to rely on advances from employers to travel back. Several said the disruption was not limited to travel alone, as leaving from work also meant temporary loss of work and in turn wages, as there was no clarity on when or how the verification process would conclude.
Procedural pressure
The families told The Hindu that they had started to receive notices after January 14. “Our employers told us that if we do not return to our home districts and appear for verification, our entries will be marked as unresolved during the SIR process,” said Binek Pandit, who works at a barber shop, adding that they were told that in such cases, if doubts flagged against names remain uncleared at the revision stage, the entries would not automatically be carried forward to the draft electoral rolls.
