Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Singur stalemate

That an industrialist like Ratan Tata is contemplating a pullout from Singur does not bode well for the future of the country. And the fact that he is being forced to do so despite the vast majority expressing support for his project and the West Bengal government making earnest attempts at finding a solution show there is a serious crisis of ethics.

Mamata Banerjee has defied all norms. The West Bengal government has shown tremendous patience in dealing with her. But she has already made up her mind to stall the project. Can a political leader who stalls a project be allowed to get away with it?

K. Baskar,

Chennai

If Tata Motors shift their small car manufacturing plant elsewhere in disgust, it will be a victory for politicians like Ms Banerjee. Establishing any industry anywhere entails displacement of a small section and the issue should be restricted to the compensation package. Preposterous demands like return of the land already acquired are meant to discredit the government.

M.K.B. Nambiar,

Mahe

It is time Ms Banerjee called off the stir or else her followers, especially the young, will abandon her. This is the chance of her life to project herself as a leader who is also committed to the social and political wellbeing of the State. If the Tatas abandon the Singur project, other industrialists will abandon all the projects meant for West Bengal. Ms Banerjee will go down in history as the destroyer of the State’s economy.

Anil Kumar Choudhury,

Kalyani

I am aghast at the West Bengal government’s act of tolerating Ms Banerjee who is about to put the clock back a hundred years. The Trinamool Congress leader has sabotaged the progress of the State and India at large.

Ashok Chatterjee,

London

I wonder why the Nano car is so important to us when our roads are already overflowing and fuel is getting dearer. In all the discussions for making out a case for land-for-industrialisation, we forget the farmers’ emotional attachment to their land. It is too much to expect the poor and illiterate farmers to see their future in rehabilitation packages.

Hrushikesha Mohanty,

Hyderabad

We have reached a stage where we have to think twice before creating new SEZs. Cultivable lands should be declared special agricultural zones. Let farmers continue to till the land with government support at all stages. Agricultural land is as precious as forests. We cannot continue to convert cultivable land for industrial use.

R. Swarnalatha,

New Delhi

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