Chief secretary Manoj Pant visited flood-affected areas of Khanakul and Arambagh in Hooghly district on Sunday for over four hours amid allegations of irregularities in the distribution of relief materials.

Many flood-hit people had spoken of "bias" in the distribution of relief when chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the region on Wednesday.

"Following this, the chief secretary instructed officials to ensure all flood victims receive adequate relief. On Sunday, he toured parts of Khanakul and Arambagh, distributing relief materials,” a senior district official said.

Pant listened to numerous complaints on embankment repair and relief distribution.

"We will provide assistance to all flood victims. Currently, we are focusing on distributing emergency relief. Once the water level recedes, we will start repairing the embankments," Pant told reporters.

The BJP, with a strong organisational presence in Hooghly's Arambagh, has slammed the state government's alleged failure to eveny distribute relief materials and address embankment repairs. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who visited Khanakul on Saturday, distributed relief to people allegedly overlooked by the government.

All four MLAs in the Arambagh subdivision are of the BJP. Several gram panchayats are controlled by the BJP.

Sources revealed that complaints of bias in relief distribution came from several areas in Hooghly, including Arambagh, Khanakul and Purusurah, with accusations that Trinamool-led gram panchayat officials were favouring their aides.

On Sunday, shortly after Pant visited Arambagh’s Harinkhola, a scuffle broke out between supporters of two TMC factions over control of the state's relief materials.