SINGUR: Singur's fragile peace is
tottering on the edge. The uneasy calm nearly blew apart on Wednesday morning
when a group of Trinamool Congress supporters roughed up a few workers on way to
the Tata Motors small car factory site. Some hours later, a group of men
carrying Trinamool flags tried to storm the factory gate but was stopped in the
nick of time by party leaders.
The group of nearly 30 workers, who
were heckled and threatened by Trinamool supporters decided not to return to
work till normalcy returns. Raj Kishore and Arvind Kumar Yadav share a room in
Singur but were forced to return by the demonstrators from the
site.
"We have worked in many projects across the country. This is
the first time we have faced anything of this sort. Some of our colleagues were
beaten up. The remaining were heckled and threatened," said a visibly shaken
Kishore.
His friend said that they have no plans of returning to the
factory. "It was very scary. We shall not return to work till normalcy returns,"
Yadav said. A labourer lodged a complaint with the police against the
demonstrators. So did van rickshaw driver Pradip Das.
Engineers and
technicians who were driven into the factory in cars and buses, sounded slightly
more confident, though all of them spoke against the demonstration. "The things
going on here in the last few days is unimaginable. I always dreamt of working
for such a project. I don't know what these people want. After the project is
completed, these people will realise the mistake they have made," said a young
engineer.
Trinamool leaders denied that any of their supporters were
involved in the attack. They maintained that it was a bid by the CPM and the
state government to defame their 'peaceful' dharna.
The incidents
have also rattled Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee as she realised how brittle
her assurance of a peaceful agitation was. With patience running out, Banerjee
is realising that a single flashpoint could turn her movement into a
free-for-all.
Meanwhile, with around 20,000 truck drivers stuck on
the Durgapur expressway, the West Bengal Federation of Truck Owners Association
will block NH6 for an indefinite period from Thursday.