Monday, February 6 2006 16:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Election Commission observers continued with the exercise of weeding out names of fake voters for the sixth day today in 19 districts of West Bengal where there have been widespread complaints of stuffing the voters'list.

In Purulia, EC Observer Manoranjan Mishra personally supervised distribution of EPIC cards at various centres in Purulia Sadar.

At many places, there were no recipients for the cards. Consequently, only half of the 400 to 500 cards meant for distribution per centre could be disbursed, district election officials said.

Mishra expressed his annoyance with the situation to the district officials.

CPI(M) district leaders said the absentee voters were mostly farmers engaged in harvesting while others were preoccupied with Saraswati puja and so could not collect their cards.

Till now 24,140 names have been struck off the voters' list in the district.

In Murshidabad, EC Observer R K Khandelwal yesterday ordered the immediate transfer of the Block Development Officer on grounds of dereliction of duty The district magistrate N M Prasad said the BDO would be released by February 22.

Khandelwal also expressed dissatisfaction with municipal officials for not sending the list of the dead to the commission regularly for deletion of their names.