Bhubaneswar: In view of the severe heatwave during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the office of Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has issued a comprehensive advisory for prevention and mitigation of any adverse impact on field-level functionaries and supervisory officers.
The CEO office has directed all district collectors, DEOs, and BMC officials to ensure that all field activities are avoided between 12 pm and 3 pm during the SIR 2026 due to severe heat wave conditions.
The advisory, issued by Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sushanta Kumar Mishra, instructed officials to conduct field verification and enrolment activities only during cooler hours — from 6 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 7 pm. The directive aims to protect field-level staff and electors from heat-related health risks during the ongoing electoral roll revision process.
It was emphasised that Odisha is likely to experience extreme temperatures in May, June, and July, posing serious risks to personnel engaged in house-to-house verification, enrolment camps, and facilitation services.
The advisory outlined safety measures, including hydration, protective clothing, and flexible duty timings based on local weather conditions.
Officials must carry mandatory field kits containing water bottles, ORS packets, caps, and mobile phones for emergency communication. Supervisors were asked to monitor symptoms of heat-related illness, such as dizziness, fatigue, or dehydration and ensure immediate medical assistance when required.
All facilitation and enrolment centres must provide shaded waiting areas, proper ventilation, and seating arrangements for visitors. The CEO urged strict compliance with the guidelines to ensure safe and smooth conduct of SIR 2026 across the state.
Notably, the SIR of electoral roll by the Election Commission is set to kick off in Odisha from May 30. The final electoral roll will be published on September 6. July 1 has been fixed as the qualifying date for the roll revision and as per the schedule announced by the EC, printing, preparation and training work will be carried out from May 20 to May 29, the CEO said.
Ahead of the SIR, forms for the exercise will be made available to voters both offline and online. Booth level officers (BLOs) will conduct house-to-house visits from May 30 to June 28 for distribution and collection of forms.
The task of reorganising polling stations will also be completed by June 28 and the draft electoral roll will be published on July 5.
