Pantnagar may help Nano meet deadline

Ratan Tata and his colleagues at Tata Motors may have sworn to secrecy but hectic activities at the company's Pantnagar plant suggest that Nano could drive out from here to meet the October deadline.

Updated on: Sep 26, 2008, 01:21:38 IST

Hindustan Times | By Utpal Parashar, Dehradun

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Ratan Tata and his colleagues at Tata Motors may have sworn to secrecy but hectic activities at the company's Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand suggest that Nano could drive out from here to meet the October deadline.

As the scene at Singur gets bleaker by the day, things have started happening at a frenzied pace at the 1000 acre plant in Pantnagar, where more manpower and machinery have started rolling in over the past weeks to manufacture nearly 50 units of Nano daily.

If sources working at the plant are to be believed, in the past week the number of engineers working at Pantnagar, which manufactures ACE mini trucks and MAGIC passenger vehicles, has doubled from 70 to nearly 150-all of whom are focusing their energies on Nano.

Don’t withdraw: WB to Tatas
The West Bengal cabinet on Thursday appealed to the Tata Motors not to withdraw the Nano project from Singur and assured help and cooperation for its implementation. The cabinet in a statement after the meeting, said the issue of the Nano project was not on the agenda for discussion, but due to request by ministers it was unanimously decided that the cabinet would appeal to the Tatas as well as to the opposition for implementation of the project. Trinamool Congress also said it was willing for further talks on Singur issue if Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi takes an initiative for this.

Issue licence, or we will withdraw: Geman company
German Consul General, Gunter Wehrmann warned on Thursday that if the West Bengal government does not issue the license of Metro Cash and Carry (MCC) then all German investments in the eastern region will stop flowing in. Wehrmann said: “The potential German investors are closely following the developments. If MCC is denied the license it will be the ‘death nail’ for all German investments in eastern India in the future”.

(With inputs from HTC Kolkata)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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