CUDDALORE: Elected representatives of village panchayats, cutting across party lines, are threatening to resign en masse, citing "tardy and inadequate" flood relief effort in the district.

Adur Agaram Panchayat president Kannan, along with 10 other councillors, who met Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi on Thursday, said their repeated pleas to mitigate the sufferings of the flood affected had not been looked into and they had no other option but to resign.

They were advised not to take impulsive action. The Collector assured them that their grievances would be looked into. He ordered Revenue Divisional Officer S. Prabhakaran to submit a report on the status of damage and relief disbursement in the village.

The councillors accused the officials of acting in a partisan manner. Of the 500 affected families in the village, only 75 had got relief. The officials were indifferent to others' claims. While people living in concrete buildings had got relief, daily wage earners, who had lost their huts, were denied this.

Representatives from Kannadi in Kurinjipadi block too said they would resign en masse if "official neglect" of their village continued. President Anajali and nine councillors said since the Collector was not in station they would put in their papers after Pongal.

Official sources told The Hindu that the elected representatives could not lay down office just like that. They had to obtain the consent of the Council before handing over their resignation.

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