Illustration: Saai 
Tamil Nadu

Locals lock civic reps in office over inundation in Tiruvannamalai

The inability of the village body to pump out stagnating water from a railway underpass and caste bickering among panchayat members irked the residents of Appanallur in West Arani panchayat union, 20 km from Vellore, so much that they locked the members inside the office when a meeting was in session on Thursday.

migrator

Tiruvannamalai

Sources revealed that there was friction between the panchayat president and other members belonging to different castes as soon as they assumed charge in the panchayat. Another issue was that local residents were annoyed that no move was undertaken to remove water stagnating in the railway underpass which put locals to a lot of hardships as they had to take a detour to reach Kannamangalam.

Using this as an excuse, irate residents locked up the panchayat office when a meeting was in progress in the presence of president Venketesan and vice president Siddharthan and other members.

Taken by surprise, the elected officials then informed the Kannamangalam police who came to the spot and ensured that the door was opened and the incarcerated members released.

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