Since Friday evening when residents of Singur saw on their television sets Tata chairman Ratan Tata announcing his decision to pull out his Nano car factory from there, tension has only mounted.

A CPM worker was allegedly beaten up by Trinamool Congress supporters in Beraberi village market on Friday night. This was followed by a Trinamool supporter being allegedly roughed up by CPM workers at Joymollah village on Saturday morning.

At the National Highway No. 2 tyres were burnt throughout Friday night and Saturday morning by pro-Tata factory supporters. They also blocked the Durgapur Expressway that left thousands of trucks stranded. CPM supporters also tried to block trains at Kamarkundu. Amid this, the 12-hour bandh called by district CPM of Hooghly passed off peacefully.

Residents of Madhyapara area of Beraberi village that lies next to Tata Motors’ small car factory are angry. Many of them had given up their land in the hope of a better living. Now, they are left with nothing. No sooner, Tata made the announcement, villagers gathered at the village ‘manasatala’.

Many of them quickly suggested that the national highway should be blocked. Others added that the kuccha road — connecting the village to the highway which also happens to be the lifeline — be dug so that local Trinamool men cannot stop them from reaching the expressway. This was a complete rerun of what had happened in Nandigram in December 2006 during Trinamool’s agitation.

“My brother got a job as an apprentice in the factory. This had improved our economic condition after we had given up land willingly for the factory. Now, we have lost our land as well as our livelihood,” rued Akul Ruidas, a youth from Beraberi Madhyapara. Dipali Mondal of Singherbheri village has also her livelihood.

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