Congress organises road blockade to protest Singur land acquisition

Singur, Aug 3 (UNI) A 500-strong mob of farmers, led by local Congress leader Abdul Mannan, today blocked National Highway -2 and Durgapur Expressway for two hours to demand return of 400 acres of land acquired 'forcibly' by the state government for the Tata Motors small car project.

Police said the mob raised blockade at Sahanapara near here from 1000 hrs to 1200 hrs disrupting traffic flow on the highway.

Later, police and GRP personnel managed to lift the blockade.

Meanwhile, Hooghly Superintendent of Police, Rajeev Mishra said 800 security personnel had been deployed in and around the Tata Motors project site in addition to hundreds of policemen in plain clothes.

''The situation is under control and no untoward incident has been reported so far,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress-backed Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (SKJRC) announced that it would organise a meeting at 1600 hrs today to demand return of the land acquired 'forcibly' for the Tata Motors project.

The Congress leader also threatened to intensify the movement if their demands were not met.

Reports have been pouring in that the workers and security guards at the Tata Motors being allegedly assualted and threatened by the SKJRC and Trinamool activists.

The SKJRC and Trinamool cadres were also allegedly threatening the workforce to leave the place immediately or ''face the consequences''.

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