January 11, 2009

Congress seeks new industries at abandoned Nano project site

Kolkata, 11 January: Hundreds of Congress activists on Sunday staged a road blockade in front of the abandoned Tata Motors small car factory site at Singur in West Bengal, demanding new industrial units in the area. The agitation continued for more than two hours near Khaserbheri area in Hooghly district, causing major traffic congestion on the Durgapur Expressway.
"We want new industries at the abandoned Tata Motors factory site at Singur. We do not know whether Tata will set up any factory there or any other company will come forward. But there should an industrial unit on the acquired land that is lying vacant for months,"said senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan, who led the agitators. Some industrial units should come up at Singur for the sake of those farmers, who willingly gave their land to the government for the Tata factory, he said, adding that if there would be no industrial unit at Singur, the state government should return the land to the farmers.
The automobile major last year announced it was pulling out its Nano small car unit from Singur, following a prolonged agitation by the opposition Trinamool Congress supporters demanding 400 acres out of the total area 997.11 acres taken for the project. Since its inception in May 2006, the project to roll out Nano, the Rs.100,000 car, encountered resistance from the Trinamool-led farmers protesting against the 'illegal' acquisition of the farmland.

No comments: