M A I N   N E W S

Tata: Nano car plant to be relocated
Subhrangshu Gupta
Tribune News Service

Dada bats for Tata Speaking for the Nano car project, former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly today joined the chorus supporting the Tata venture saying it created “a future for us” and warned that West Bengal would become a “dark spot” if the project is shifted from Singur. Stating that the brand Tatas would turn Singur into another Jamshedpur, he said: “I feel industry is the future of the state. So let us support the cause of Tatas and the industry to create the future of us,” Ganguly said. — PTI

Kolkata, September 2
On the 10th day of Mamata Banerjee’s dharna and agitation at Singur, Tata Industries chairman Ratan Tata today announced their decision to shift the Nano motor plant from Singur to some other “safe state”.

He also “officially” declared the suspension of all works at the Singur plant, where employees had already stopped attending their duties since August 28 in the face of violence and intimidations. All overseas engineers and other technical experts engaged at the Nano plant had also returned to Japan and the US. However, the Tata Motors authorities are trying to absorb the Singur plant employees in other projects elsewhere in the country.

Rata Tata and Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant were in the city and they reportedly discussed with the state government and Tata Motors’ employees the situation at Singur in the wake of the continuing agitations in front of the plant.

Afterwards, the Tata Motors authorities decided to officially declare the “suspension of all works at the Singur plant for an indefinite period”. At the meeting, Ratan Tata also conveyed their decision to move out of Singur and relocate the Nano plant to some other “safe place”.

These decisions were also conveyed to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who also carried this “bad news” to Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, whom he met at Raj Bhawan in the evening. Jyoti Basu, Biman Bose and leaders of all other Left Front parties were also been duly informed about the Tata’s decisions.

Gandhi has been acting as a mediator during the past two days to resolve the Singur crisis. He had written a letter to Mamata Banerjee requesting her to come to the negotiating table. Mamata had also agreed in principle to the Governor’s request and had sent Partha Chatterjee, the leader of the opposition in the Assembly, to the Raj Bhawan for talks. Chatterjee met the Governor thrice in the past two days.

The Tata Motors employees and the contractors’ labours did not attend office for the consecutive fourth day today.

Earlier in the morning, the Left committee, at an urgent meeting at the CPM’s Alimuddin party office, decided to direct the state government to immediately arrange “a sustainable rehabilitation package” for the affected farmers at Singur.

In the morning, Gandhi met Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee and former MP Dinesh Dwivedi and heard their “proposals” for resolving the problem.

In the evening, he called the Chief Minister at the Raj Bhawan and exchanged views with him on the basis of discussions he held with the Trinamool leaders. But so far nothing tangible had evolved for ending the deadlock.