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Mega machines move in to tear down Nano factory
10 years ago giant machines had moved in to build the factory.
Ten years ago, excavators, cranes and giant equipment had arrived in Singur to turn 997.11 acres of fertile land into a factory for the Nano small-car plant. On Friday, similar machines arrived again, but this time to clear the land of the jungle that is now Singur before the bulldozers move in to tear down the Nano shed.
“The combined harvesters --- as the giant contraptions are called --- will clear the jungles, excavators will level the land and bulldozers will demolish the concrete structures,” a senior official of Hooghly district told HT on Friday, as the combined harvesters --- nearly two-stories high --- rolled in. Drones are also being used to map the land.
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“Nearly 300 surveyors have been engaged for speedy identification and demarcation of the plots. Besides, officers and the staff from the Singur block development office are working round the clock,” an officer said.
The district collectorate at Chinsurah is today a hub of activity, just as in 2006 when land was being acquired for the project. Then, its officials worked over-time to identify, measure land and examine ownership claims and disburse compensation. They are back to those hectic days again, doing their job all over again.
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“From a mega project with huge manpower and giant equipment for turning farmland into an industrial compound to another mega project with massive manpower and gigantic machines to turn that industrial project into farmland, Singur has come a full circle,” Harihar Das, 73, who is waiting to get his 2.5-acre plot at Khaser Bheri village for which he did not accept compensation back, told HT.
The building of Shanti Ceramics on the acquired land that once served as the camp office of the Hooghly district administration to supervise the land acquisition is now the base from where officers will launch the demolition job.
Ten years ago, tens of thousands of policemen were there to ensure that the farmers who lost their land didn’t disrupt the construction work. Today, many of them are there, but they are simply idling away their time as there is no opposition.
