SIR drive: BLO duty under spotlight as Gujarat reports two deaths in 48 hours
Arvind Vaghere's final letter cited excessive mental pressure; another teacher, Rameshbhai Parmar, died of heart attack
SIR and BLOs continue to make news, albeit for the wrong reasons.
Arvind Vaghere, a teacher in Gujarat’s Kodinar, died by suicide on Friday (November 21) morning. He left behind a letter to his wife and son, saying that the additional workload as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) and the mental pressure associated with it had become unbearable.
Also Read: TN govt officials boycott SIR duties, announce ‘work stoppage protest’
In another incident, another school teacher working as a BLO in Gujarat’s Kheda district died of heart attack. His family attributed his death to “excessive work pressure” linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Gujarat BLO commits suicide
Vaghere, a government teacher at the Chhara Girls’ Primary School and a resident of Devali village in Kodinar, Junagadh, wrote in his final letter that the stress of BLO duties during the SIR process had become overwhelming.
He wrote to his wife and son that he had been facing intense mental pressure while working as a BLO. His note read, “Please forgive me for taking this extreme step, but the mental pressure is too much to bear. The last few days have been extremely mentally taxing. I love you both very much, but I am compelled to take this step. Please take care of yourselves and our son. My son, please keep going to school and continue your education.”
Also Read: Kerala school employee dies by suicide; BLO work pressure blamed
Vaghere, who had been a government school teacher for over 20 years, had been assigned BLO duties along with many other teachers in the state. This is the second such incident involving a government school teacher working as a BLO in Gujarat this week.
Overwhelmed by BLO duties
Rameshbhai Parmar, a 50-year-old teacher working as a BLO in Kheda district, died of a heart attack in his sleep at his home during the intervening night of Wednesday (November 19) and Thursday (November 20).
His brother told local media that Parmar died in his sleep and had been under immense pressure due to the additional BLO work.
Parmar, a resident of Jambudi village in Kapadvanj taluka and a teacher at a government school in Navapura village, had recently been assigned BLO duties.
According to his brother, Parmar returned home around 7.30 pm after finishing his BLO responsibilities and resumed paperwork after freshening up. “We believe he suffered a heart attack due to excessive work pressure,” his brother said.
Parmar’s daughter Shilpa also claimed her father had been under severe stress because of his BLO responsibilities. Repeated attempts to reach District Collector Amit Prakash Yadav and District Primary Education Officer Paresh Vaghela for comment were unsuccessful.
Workload concerns raised
These incidents come a week after government teachers held protests in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad against the excessive workload of simultaneously managing teaching responsibilities and BLO duties.
Also Read: After Kerala, BLO in Rajasthan dies by suicide; family alleges SIR pressure
Each BLO has reportedly been assigned around 1,400 people whose details must be verified, digitised and submitted. The state education department has made it mandatory for teachers to serve as BLOs.
Last week, arrest warrants were issued against several teachers for arriving late for BLO duty or failing to report.
(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)