Several discrepancies have been found in voter identity cards and the application procedure. Many of those, who applied for a new voter card as their cards needed corrections such as change of address and name are being harassed.

Ronald Alliew, a resident of Entally, surrendered his card —WB/22/153/021241- on November, 30 2007. He applied for a new card on December 19 in the same year. On finding that his name was not in the voter list, he again applied for the card twice in 2008 but did not receive the card. This year also, he has applied but was again asked to reapply.

“I asked the EC officials several times but each time I was told to reapply. I have applied four times for the card in the last three years,” said Alliew, who came to get himself registered as a voter in the office of Borough VI.

Similarly, Mihir Kumar Poddar, a resident of ward 86 has submitted five applications to correct his wife’s EPIC— WB/23/149/366139. “I have been applying for the card since 2005 but to no avail. I have lost all hopes of having the identity card,” said Poddar, queuing up in the Borough VIII office.

Many people have a card but they are out of the voters’ list. There are others who are in the voters’ list but do not have EPICs. The registration offices do not have inquiry counters and people are misled by the government employees deputed by the EC for registration. Consequently, they keep approaching one office after another.