Udupi Deputy Commissioner T.K. Swaroopa handing over SIR enumeration forms to an elderly couple in Udupi on Tuesday.
The over-50-year-old Anganwadi teacher from Doota, near Kodilkal, said she has been waiting for parents to pick up their children around noon so she can close the Anganwadi and visit houses in the Kavoor-Kuloor area to distribute enumeration forms to voters for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).In the absence of a helper, the teacher said she has to close down the Anganwadi to do the SIR work. As many as 12 children had come to the Anganwadi on Tuesday, she said.The situation is similar in the Anganwadi in Katipalla, Mangaluru North Assembly constituency. There are more children in this Anganwadi, and a helper has not been appointed for over four years.A teacher from an Anganwadi in Baikampady told a voter in the area that she would first finish the house visits for the administration of Pulse Polio drops and then start the distribution of enumeration forms.Anganwadi teacher Ravikala, who is the Booth Level Officer (BLO) for an area in Farangipet, said she has asked the helper in the Anganwadi to take care of the 12 children who have been dropped off there when she goes for SIR work. The Booth Level Agents of political parties were yet to join her in the work. She would be distributing the enumeration forms and making entries in the related mobile app about the delivery of slips to voters, she said.Vishalakshi, a representative of the Dakshina Kannada District Anganwadi Workers Association, said it is difficult, especially in the absence of helpers, for Anganwadi teachers to take care of the children and to also carry out SIR work. “Both are sensitive and responsible tasks. We have asked the district administration to relieve such teachers from the SIR work, or allow teachers to close Anganwadis for the period of SIR,” she said.An official from the Women and Child Welfare Department said that of 2,131 Anganwadis, as many as 66 of them do not have helpers. The problem faced by the Anganwadi teachers without helpers has been flagged before the State officers. “To keep the Anganwadis running, we have directed teachers of the nearby Anganwadis to take care of the children when the teacher concerned goes for SIR work,” the district official said.In Dakshina Kannada district, enumeration forms will be distributed by BLOs by visiting the houses of voters in 1,876 polling booths.On Tuesday, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan and Additional Deputy Commissioner K. Raju visited the houses of a few senior citizens and handed over the enumeration forms to them. The enumeration forms were also handed over to senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary, D. Veerendra Heggade, Member of Parliament, D. Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru City South MLA, and Ivan D’Souza, MLC.Similarly, Udupi Deputy Commissioner T.K. Swaroopa visited the houses of senior citizens and Shiroor Mutt seer Vedavardhana Tirtha in Udupi town and presented the enumeration forms to them. Published - June 30, 2026 07:22 pm IST
