Kolkata, Jun 23 (IANS): As many as 34 people have been arrested in West Bengal's South and North 24 Parganas districts on Tuesday for staging protests against irregularities over disbursement of Amphan relief funds

As many as 20 people were arrested at Sumatinagar village in South 24 Parganas's Sagar Island for staging a protest rally outside the local panchayat office on Monday.

The other 14 people, including six students from Jadavpur and Calcutta Universities, were arrested in connection with the protest rally at Deganga in Kolkata's neighbouring North 24 Parganas district. Angry villagers had staged protests in the Deganga area blocking the Taki main road.

Police said that all the six students, who were outsiders, were produced in the Barasat court on Tuesday and they were sent to three days police custody.

West Bengal Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick said: "The outsiders were Maoist sympathisers and they tried to create disturbances at Deganga area over the relief distribution work. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists were also involved in the incident."

BJP state President Dilip Ghosh, however, termed Mallick as the most incompetent Food Minister. "The state government should have at least some credibility. He is the worst Food Minister I have ever seen in life. People are not getting relief. They have been suffering for the past one month. Villagers have lost everything in Amphan and the state government officials and Trinamool Congress-backed panchayats are busy misappropriating relief materials," he said, dubbing the situation as "unfortunate".