Hyderabad voters skip SIR hearings despite notices
HYDERABAD: Nearly one lakh voters have failed to attend hearings held as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Hyderabad, despite receiving notices from officials.
The Hyderabad district administration has so far issued notices to 4,20,000 voters. It is required to issue notices to a total of 12,53,873 voters, with the remaining notices still being served.
Voters who receive notices are required to attend the hearing on the date and time mentioned in them and submit the necessary documents. However, the response has been poor, with only around 11,000 voters attending hearings and submitting their explanations till Monday.
No hearings have been held so far in Malakpet, Amberpet, Sanathnagar and Khairatabad constituencies, according to officials.
Multiple forms may have led to confusion
Officials suspect some voters may have submitted SIR forms in more than one constituency because they have voter registrations in another Hyderabad constituency, a neighbouring constituency or their native place.
As a result, some voters may be ignoring the notices because they believe they do not need to attend hearings at every location. Officials, however, said voters must attend at least one hearing if they receive notices at multiple places.
Officials said voting rights would be retained at the location where the voter attends the hearing and submits the required documents. They suspect some voters may also be delaying their response while deciding where they want to retain their voting rights.
Surname discrepancies trigger many notices
Officials said another reason for the poor response could be the nature of discrepancies mentioned in the draft electoral roll.
A large number of notices relate to surnames. Some voters have their full surname on earlier voter ID cards, while others have only an initial. Notices have now been issued to voters whose full surnames are missing from the records.
Some voters are questioning why they received notices when they believe their details are otherwise correct. Officials suspect these voters are also skipping hearings because they consider the discrepancy a minor issue.
Officials warn voters about final list
Officials have warned that voters who receive notices must attend the hearing and submit the required details and documents. Those who fail to do so may not find their names in the final electoral roll.
The deadline for attending hearings is October 15, officials said. Reminder notices will also be issued to voters whose hearing slots lapse.
Officials said voters who fail to attend the hearing by the deadline will not have their names included in the final list.
