Singur politics back on table,Mamata,Buddha out to score a point

The foundation laying ceremony will take place on November 29. Mamata has also proposed to set up a railway coach factory on 600 acres of the Nano project land.

The Left Front government had approached BHEL for a thermal plant at the site and a team of engineers had inspected the same. Later,BHEL authorities said the site was not ideal for a thermal plant and they would not be interested in the project. 

Now,Mamata has mooted the Kisan Vision project to strengthen her position among the farmers,beside wooing the people of Singur.

The project intends to create special hubs for storage and transportation of perishable products like fruits and vegetables through the public-private-partnership model.

According to Railway officials,the proposed project will be initiated near the Singur railway station and will comprise temperature controlled storage facilities,wholesale market with stalls and transportation facilities for the stored items. Special trains will run from Singur carrying the perishable items to consumption centres and business hubs.

“The people of Singur sacrificed a lot and fought with the state government for three years. Now,they are looking towards Mamata for a solution to the problem,” said Becharam Manna,Mamata’s pointsman in Singur.

The farmers of Singur and the entire district of Hooghly will benefit from the Kisan Vision project,said Manna.

According to him,the project will have clusters of cold storage with stalls attached to it. The farmers will get the privilege of keeping their products in the cold storage.

Earlier,Mamata had proposed to the state government that she wants to set up a railway coach factory in the 600 acres of the Tata project land.

According to the minister,Railways has a huge demand for railway rakes,wagons and new engines. Setting up the factory would ensure the requisite flow of funds. Currently,the state government and Tata do not seem to be keen to hand over the land and are yet to reply to her proposal.