Online filling up of SIR forms starts in Bengal, response good: Official

The online filling up of the enumeration forms (EFs) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been enabled on the website of the Election Commission of India voters' service portal, a senior official at the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Saturday.

The service has been enabled on Friday night and is available for the voters to fill up the EFs, he said.

Several operational issues, including website malfunctions, have marred the online form-filling process for the SIR in West Bengal.

''The portal has been enabled, and people will be able to 'Fill Enumeration Form' on the portal. They can also look for their names in the 'Search Your Name in Last SIR' option,'' he told PTI.

The service aims to assist voters who are away from their homes or working outside the state during the revision period. ''Those whose EPIC cards are not linked with their mobile numbers must first complete the linking process on the same portal before filling the form. Voters unable to link their numbers have been asked to fill up Form 8, also available on the website, before proceeding with the enumeration process,'' he said.

Further explaining the process, the poll panel official said that after accessing the online form, voters are required to provide the same details as in the offline version, including constituency name, part number, and serial number if their name appeared in the 2002 electoral roll.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) started door-to-door distribution of forms across the state on Tuesday while the online rollout, which was scheduled for the same day, was delayed due to technical issues.

The ECI had cited website malfunctions that disrupted access and slowed form availability, causing procedural delays for both voters and BLOs.

These operational challenges have particularly affected residents of former enclaves, many of whom continue to face documentation-related difficulties in securing inclusion on the electoral roll.

Describing the response to be ''good'', officials at the CEO said that with the online facility now active, the Commission expects smoother processing of voter enumeration in the coming days.