Fear and terror loomed large in Singur villages on Friday as eleven unwilling farmers accepted compensation cheques and at least 40 such people put in their application showing consent for giving up their land for the Tata small car factory.

This process will continue till September 22 unless the date is extended further. However, District Magistrate Neelam Meena said the exercise would continue uninterrupted over the weekend as well.

The state Government has marked three places for receiving applications from farmers and issuing cheques to them. These include the BDO office in Singur, the SDO office and the DM office in Chinsurah, 40 kilometres away from Singur.

Distance has proved to be an impediment for the farmers especially the old men, who are hesitant to travel the 40 kilometres to put in their application.

At ground zero, however, the BDO office is also the office of the Panchayat Samiti, which is currently controlled by the TMC. Most farmers fear putting in their applications there, where TMC workers opposing the project are present most of the time, said an official of the district land acquisition department, the nodal agency that is responsible for issuing cheques.

Other than this, there is a general fear that is keeping the farmers from applying. Most of them are consciously avoiding the media glare and the watchful eyes of TMC supporters.

Dilip Barik had gone to the DM’s office in Chinsurah on Friday, rather inconspicuously, and had consciously avoided the BDO office that was closer home. His father Sanatan will receive a cheque of around Rs 50,000 for their three-decimal land on Saturday.

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