Odisha: Sudarsan Pattnaik creates sand art in Puri to boost SIR awareness

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 30 (ANI): Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Friday created a sand art at Niladri Beach in Puri to spread public awareness regarding the scheduled Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha starting today.
According to officials, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across Odisha will carry out door-to-door visits from May 30, which will continue till June 28, as part of the voter enumeration exercise.
Expressing gratitude to the artist for his initiative, State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) RS Gopalan said, "We are thankful to Sudarsan Pattnaik for his beautiful sand art."
Speaking to reporters about the SIR, Gopalan also outlined the phase-wise timeline of the revision process.
"In Odisha, SIR started on 20th May. From 30th May to 28th June, our BLOs will be visiting house-to-house; they will also be available in the booth in the evening from 3 PM to 5 PM. Their job is to distribute the enumeration form to all voters in the 2025 roll, get it filled up and collect it back," CEO Gopalan said.
He further added, "After the forms are collected back, the draft roll will be published on 5th July. Then we will invite claims and objections. The last date for filing claims and objections is 4th August. After that, for one month, all claims and objections will be heard, inquired into and disposed of. The final roll will be published on 6th September 2026."
Highlighting the local deployment, Puri District Magistrate (DM) Dibya Jyoti Parida stated that all necessary arrangements are in place to assist citizens.
"SIR process has begun in Puri district. BLOs will visit door-to-door and give enumeration forms to voters, and all details will be filled in the enumeration forms. We appeal to all voters to cooperate with them," Parida told reporters.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule has been outlined for multiple States and Union Territories with clearly defined timelines for each stage of the electoral roll process.
For Odisha, along with Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur, the qualifying date is July 1, 2026. The preparation, training and printing phase will run from May 20, 2026, to May 29, 2026, followed by house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from May 30, 2026, to June 28, 2026. Rationalisation of polling stations will be completed by June 28, 2026. The draft electoral roll will be published on July 5, 2026, with the period for filing claims and objections from July 5, 2026, to August 4, 2026. The notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue from July 5, 2026, to September 2, 2026, and the final electoral roll will be published on September 6, 2026. (ANI)