Tata Motors today started a programme for improving skills and increasing employability of the youths of Singur, where land acquisition for its small car plant has led to massive protests. The first part of the initiative is aimed at the ITI-trained youths. "This is one of the many community initiatives of Tata Motors that is in the offing and will be announced periodically on finalisation of its involvement at Singur," the company said in a press release issued late on Monday. As a first step, it invited 30 youths for a written test. The candidates had earlier registered at the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation's (WBIDC's) Singur camp office. Those qualifying the test and meeting the criteria would be sent to Tata Motors' plants for upgrading their skills through a training period of six months, the release said. The company will hold more such tests for youths who register at the WBIDC office. It also plans to hold an aptitude test for those who are not technically qualified. Meanwhile, 13 KLO prisoners in the Jalpaiguri correctional home have gone on a 48-hour hunger strike in support of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has been protesting against acquisition of farm land for the Singur plant. The prisoners started their fast last morning, jail authorities said today. The KLO men had been apprehended from various parts of north Bengal for insurgency, they said.
