Buddhadeb urges Singur farmers to collect payment

Kolkata, Feb 9 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today reiterated his commitment to carry forward the industrialisation programme in consultation with the Opposition and appealed to the Singur farmers to collect their cheques.

Referring to his yesterday's letter to Opposition leader in the Assembly and senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee, inviting him for talks on the government's land acquisition policy, Mr Bhattacharjee said as suggested by Mr Chatterjee, henceforth he would hold regular talks with all Opposition parties before proceeding towards any further acquisition of land for industry anywhere in the state.

Moreover, the Chief Minister said he had appealed to each of the very few farmers, who had either either refused to collect their compensation cheques or simply did not turn up to collect for various reasons, to come and collect without further delay.

But if any of them had any grievance, he could take up the matter with the Direcrote of Industry, who remained posted at Singur, or with the Hooghly District Magistrate for their immediate redress, the Chief Minister said and made it clear his intention for an amicable solution to the jinxed issue.

Incidentally, Mr Chatterjee following the receipt of the Chief Minister's letter and his subsequent talks with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, had flatly rejected the offer for a dialogue on both the Singur and Nandigram issues till the state government returned entire land, acquired for the Tata Motor's proposed small car unit.

Describing his decision not to attend the opening ceremony of the rescheduled Kolkata Book Fair at the Salt Lake Stadium this evening as ''purely personal'', the Chief Minister, himself an ardent booklover, said, ''I do not feel like going there this time since I could not prevent the shifting of its venue though I was able to save it from a devastating fire in 1997. '' UNI ABA SJC RL HS1820