Rust turns green in Singur Nano plant
The government hAs tAken the entire chArge of the first yeAr’s fArming — from tilling, sowing And hArvesting to free supply of seeds And fertiliser
MustArd, red lentil, khesAri pulse, potAto hAve Been grown PAddy, mAize, sesAme, green grAm And BlAck lentil to Be grownnow
NeArly 800 Acres Are reAdy for cultivAtion. ‘damaged’ by industrial construction, the government has taken the entire charge of farming for the first year — from tilling land and supplying seeds and fertilisers to sowing and harvest.
Farming resumed in October last year with CM Mamata Banerjee sowing mustard seeds herself. Over October and November, mustard was grown on 68 acres, potato on 15 acres and red lentil and khesari on 20 acres each. From the first week of February, mustard, lentil and khesari were harvested and the same land is now being used for paddy.
Not everyone is equally pleased though. The land belonging to Suprakash Santra, who spent 21 days behind bars for trying to resist the police from taking possession of his land, is still filled with concrete. “Tatas dug a huge pond here. The government-employed contractors, however, filled it with concrete slabs. Hundreds of quintals of concrete slabs need to be removed now. When will the land turn cultivable?” asked Santra.
There are the likes of Dwarik Ghosh, who will not resume farming. “I never wanted to farm and had willingly parted with my land. I got both of my daughters enrolled in an engineering college, hoping the plant will create jobs.NowthatIhavegottheland back, I’m waiting for a good buyer to sell it off again,” Ghosh said.