Singur:The Singur impasse saw no prospect of solution on the fourth day today of the Trinamool Congress-sponsored indefinite dharna before the Tata Motors project with party chief Mamata Banerjee still firm on her demand for return of 400 acres to farmers and its activists assaulting some labourers on way to work at an ancillary unit.

Some labourers (all from Bihar) on their way to work at an ancillary unit and a trolley van-puller carrying them were assaulted by Trinamool workers laying a siege to the small car plant, the police said. A complaint of threats was also registered.

A Tata Motors spokesman said that there had been a drop in the attendance of contract labourers in the main plant. which was recorded at 15 per cent today, due to communication bottleneck. However, staff attendance varied between 80 and 85 per cent, he said.

Alarmed at the growing queues of thousands of trucks due to blockade of Durgapur Expressway, the state government said in Kolkata it would not allow any police intervention, but would continue to strive for reaching a solution through discussions.

We will not seek any legal action and are still holding patience to clear the expressway of blockade, state Home Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said when asked if the blockade had violated the National Highways Act.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who again rejected Trinamool s demand for return of 400 acres, reviewed the Singur situation at a high-level meeting at the secretariat .

The state s Commerce and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen informed a standing committee on commerce and industry that it would not be possible for the state government to hand over to the Opposition a copy of the full agreement with the Tatas without the consent of the latter.
Source : PTI