According to official sources, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday terminated his three-day trip to Odisha and went to New Delhi after a grave accident hit his father and he was scheduled to meet Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
Kumar was to have a meeting with BLOs around the state on December 29 but the meeting had to be cancelled after the family tragedy. Sources also indicated that the CEC can visit Odisha once again to discuss with BLOs before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Remorseing the fact that he was leaving at a very short notice, Kumar said that he was truly impressed by the rich art, architecture, hospitality, and natural beauty of Odisha, and he was sure that would come back to the state.
On his visit to Odisha on Saturday, the CEC had indicated that it was a visit to seek darshan of Lord Jagannath and meet with booth-level officers, whom he termed as the pillars of the election process. Kumar was to meet about 700 BLOs of Khurda and Cuttack districts on Monday at 3 pm in Bhubaneswar according to the initial plan.
The Special Intensive Revision exercise is an essential activity that is to be conducted in Odisha as one of the third phases through the assistance of BLOs. The first round of SIR has been already done in Bihar by the Election Commission with the second round presently underway in 12 states and Union Territories. The other parts of Odisha and the rest will probably come under the second phase.
On Sunday, Kumar paid a visit to heritage crafts village of Raghurajpur in the Puri district with his wife before he cut short his visit. In the process, he met with the local artisans and observed the traditional art like Pattachitra pictures, Tussar silk weaving, woodcraft, and other local crafts.
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