SIR notices leave Pune voters confused, some rush to centres even as ECI says hearing not required

Many residents in Pune are confused about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) notices they have received for their voter rolls. The Election Commission of India (ECI) declared on September 26 that booth-level officers (BLOs) should collect documents from citizens' homes instead of calling them for physical hearings, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Despite this, some Pune residents were asked to submit their documents at designated centers. Khursheed Zakharia, a school teacher, received a no-mapping notice, but when she called her BLO to confirm a meeting, she was told that someone might be able to visit her home, or she could go to a designated hall. Another resident, 74-year-old Anita Taheer, received a no-mapping notice for her father's details, which were not available in the 2002 voter list.

She was sent a list of four documents to submit: a Pan Card, Passport, Driving Licence, and Bank Passbook. Despite these notices, many residents, including Zakharia and Taheer, were surprised to receive them, as they had already completed the enumeration process. At some hearing centers, such as Government Technical School in Shivajinagar and Appasaheb Kulkarni Primary School in Gokhalenagar, no voters were present for scheduled hearings, as BLOs had already collected documents from over 90% of the residents.