No meetings, rallies at Singur's Tata unit: State Home Secy

Singur, Aug 13 (UNI) West Bengal Home Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty today said no public meeting or rally would be allowed in front of Tata Motors' small car project site's gate, adding non-observance would invoke necessary action.

After holding a meeting with Tata Motors' staff and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation(WBIDC) officials here, Mr Chakraborty said the law and order situation at Singur was satisfactory, adding measures would be taken to shield the workers at the project from any kind of opposition.

'' The agitators may chose to stage protest at any place barring the gate of Tata's Singur unit, '' he told newspersons.

'' So far, 900 policemen, including civil dress clad police forces, have been deployed at Singur. The latter are even keeping close vigil on the paths trodden by the labourers to the Tata Motors' factory, '' he informed.

He said such number would be raised if the situation demanded.

He further informed that there had been an abatement of apprehension from the workers' minds, citing that the attendance of workers at the unit was 64 per cent yesterday.

According to him, an upward trend was observed in this regard.

About 3,500 workers work at the small-car production unit daily on an average.

Reacting to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's call for an indefinite gherao at Tata Motors' small car unit at Singur on August 24, Mr Chakraborty said though no plan of action had been chalked out, circumstances would invoke measures.

Though opting not to give undue importance to the Maoists' threat to the workers at Tata Motors factory to vacate the unit, he stated that the security forces had already been alerted to counter such menace.

West Bengal Police DG Anup Bhushan Vhora, DG (Burdwan Range) Harmin Prit Singh, SP (Hooghly) Rajiv Mishra and DM (Hooghly) Neelam Meena were among others present at the meeting.

UNI XC SB SJC DB1838