SIR in Bengal: ECI seeks Oriya interpreters for four gram panchayats in West Midnapore

Kolkata, Jan 2 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has been compelled to engage Oriya interpreters-cum-translators for four gram panchayats -- two each under the Dantan and Mohanpur community development blocks -- in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, for hearings on claims and objections related to the draft voters’ list.

This is because the majority of voters in these four gram panchayats located close to the West Bengal-Odisha border in the West Midnapore district are predominantly Oriya-speaking.

“Even the duly-filled enumeration forms filled by them are in Oriya scripts, thus necessitating the appointment of Oriya interpreters-cum-translators for hearing sessions,” a senior official from the CEO’s office said.

These voters who have their ancestral roots in Odisha, the official said, had been settled in these four gram panchayats under the two community development blocks for generations, and most of them depend on agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihood.

“Often, the new brides coming to these families have their roots in Odisha, and they are conversant with no other language but Oriya. In such a situation, it had become extremely difficult for the Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, and Booth-level Officers to communicate with these voters, who are mainly Bengali-speaking, to interact with these Oriya-speaking voters, and hence the necessity for Oriya interpreters-cum-translators during the hearing sessions,” the official from the office of the CEO said.

He said that although Oriya-speaking voters or those with ancestral roots in Odisha are scattered in several pockets in both East Midnapore and West Midnapore districts, the concentration of such voters is high in these four gram panchayats under the Dantan and Mohanpur community development blocks.

“While verbal interaction with these voters during the hearing session is a matter of inconvenience for the EROs, AEROs, and micro-observers, what is even more difficult and time-consuming is translating the Oriya scripts in their enumeration forms. So the average time consumed for hearings for such voters is much more than that for other voters,” the CEO’s office insider confirmed.

The draft voters' list was published on December 16. The final voters' list will be published on February 14. Soon after that, the ECI will announce the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal.