Singur on the boil ahead of all party peace meet

Bengal juggled between peace and tension with merely two days left for the proposed all party meeting on restoring peace in Nandigram.

Even as the main opposition party Trinamool Congress and Left Front Constituent Forward Bloc agreed for the need for bringing peace in Nandigram, Singur remained on the boil.

Tension prevailed at the Tata Motors small car project site in Singur with a second attempt by some villagers to enter the protected area spread of 997 acres.

Police had to burst tear gas shells to dispell the agitators.

Although Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee maintained that Singur and Nandigram were separate issues, she questioned the process of land acquisition adopted by the government for industrial projects.

Addressing a rally in Haldia, close to Nandigram, Banerjee said industrialisation cannot happen at the cost of lives of the people.

The rally in Haldia assumes importance since the government may choose the place for the proposed chemical hub by Salim Group following the decision to shift the project from Nandigram owing to mass agitation.

The government had been maintaining that the project needs to be located near a port, which leaves Haldia as a suitable site.

"We are not opposed to industrialisation but the process of acquisition adopted by the government for industrial projects. It is the duty of the government to ensure development of people. Instead providing funds for development the government is displacing people without paying adequate compensation," Banerjee said.

The Trinamool leader said Bengal government should provide funds for irrigation, which is barring growth of agriculture in the area.

The fireband leader also demanded completion of CBI investigation of March 14 Nandigram killings, which was stopped without any "comprehensive conclusion".

Lakhs of Trinamool supporters congregated at Haldia, an area considered to be a CPI(M) bastion, to attend the rally.

Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had expressed surprise over the spurt of violence at Singur.

He argued that the proposed car project will offer employment to 4,000 people and galvanise the economy of the area but a small number of people are bent on opposing it.

Bhattacharjee sought an answer from the opposition about the necessity for the opposition even though the people whose land had been taken away by the Tata Motors small car project site would be given job at the plant.

The state government is also harping on the need for a chemical hub, which is being viewed as an opportunity.

CPI(M) is likely to place its views on the chemical hub before the opposition parties in the all party meeting later this week.