Pune's Pavement Dwellers Fear Being Left Out Of SIR Over Lack Of Address Proof: 'Birth Certificate Means Nothing...'

Pune's pavement dwellers are concerned about being overlooked during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls due to the lack of traditional address proof. With no house, door numbers, or permanent addresses, these residents find it challenging to provide the necessary documentation required by election officials.

Santosh Gaikwad, a 38-year-old who has lived on the footpath near Pune Railway Station for nine years, argues that the government officers' focus on house numbers and flat doors overlooks their unique circumstances. "We have been sleeping on this same road near Pune Station for nine years, but because we don’t have a door number to paint on, the system acts like we don’t exist in the city’s voter roll," he explains.

Many families struggle to obtain basic government documents, such as electricity bills, house papers, or registered rent agreements, due to the inability to provide conventional proof of residence. Ramesh, a 42-year-old roadside vendor near Deccan Gymkhana, shares his frustration over being asked repeatedly for an electricity bill, house papers, or a registered rent agreement while trying to update his family's documents.

"How can a roadside family produce an electricity bill? They just say, ‘Come back when you have a permanent address proof.’ Having a birth certificate means nothing when the system refuses to see you," he laments. Frequent evictions due to anti-encroachment drives further complicate the situation, forcing families to shift their belongings and sleeping locations, making it difficult for verification officers to locate them during the verification process.

Sunita Shinde, a 34-year-old resident near Pune Station, laments that the rain and mud treat them like stray animals. "When it rains like this in Pune, everything gets destroyed. Our plastic sheets leak, the wood gets soaked so we can’t even light a fire to cook dinner for the family, and we sleep in wet clothes. We live like humans in the daytime, but at night, the rain and the mud treat us like stray animals," she says.

Meena, a 29-year-old mother of two living near the PMC flyover, describes the difficulties she and her family face in enrolling her 7-year-old daughter in a local municipal school. The administration demanded local proof of residence and linked Aadhaar cards, which they could not obtain without a fixed home. Without a permanent address, how can a child study under a street light when it's pouring rain outside?

Deputy Collector and District Election Officer Minal Kalaskar assures that after the SIR process, Form 6 will be opened for pavement dwellers, and a registration drive will be undertaken. However, she clarifies that this will not be part of the ongoing SIR process and will take place once the draft electoral roll is published on August 24.