Kolkata: Tata chief Ratan Tata on Monday maintained the group's proposed small car plant in West Bengal would begin production on schedule, even as the Singur area where it is being built continued to simmer.
On a day when Singur turned into a battlefield due to violent protests by the villagers and the Trinamool Congress over forcible land acquisition for the car project, Tata made an unexpected visit to the city to reaffirm his faith in the state government.
"There is no question of backing out," Tata said after a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. "The project will come up at Singur and on schedule (by 2008)," he emphasised.
Bhattacharya also made it clear that the project would not be relocated. In an interview on a TV channel on Sunday, Tata said the group was caught in an unwanted political crossfire.
Arson, baton charges and the teargas marked the day in Singur, about 40 km from Kolkata in Hooghly district, as the agitation intensified after a lull.
Meanwhile, the opposition Trinamool Congress has called for road blockades Tuesday to protest the acquisition of farmlands for the project at Singur, 40 km from Kolkata.
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