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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Work stopped at Nano car factory | Work stopped at Nano car factory |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Work at the Indian factory where the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car, is to be made has been suspended indefinitely amid local opposition. | Work at the Indian factory where the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car, is to be made has been suspended indefinitely amid local opposition. |
| Tata Motors has decided to look for alternative manufacturing sites after violent protests by farmers in West Bengal where the plant is located. | Tata Motors has decided to look for alternative manufacturing sites after violent protests by farmers in West Bengal where the plant is located. |
| Farmers want the return of 400 acres of land and their protests have prevented any work at the plant since Friday. | Farmers want the return of 400 acres of land and their protests have prevented any work at the plant since Friday. |
| Tata said the situation at the plant was "hostile and intimidating". | Tata said the situation at the plant was "hostile and intimidating". |
| Economic blow | Economic blow |
| Farmers' groups said they were not seeking Tata's withdrawal from the area, some 50 kilometres north of Calcutta. | Farmers' groups said they were not seeking Tata's withdrawal from the area, some 50 kilometres north of Calcutta. |
| But they said the land on which the plant in Singur is being built had been forcibly acquired from "unwilling" farmers. | But they said the land on which the plant in Singur is being built had been forcibly acquired from "unwilling" farmers. |
| There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project Tata Motors | There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project Tata Motors |
| Tata said it was evaluating options to shift production of the Nano - which will cost about 100,000 rupees ($2,500) - to some of its six other manufacturing sites in India. | |
| The firm said it would consider persevering with the Singur plant - in which it has invested $350m - if conditions around the facility returned to normal but warned that it had a "deadline" to meet to build the car. | |
| "There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project," a company spokesman said. | "There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project," a company spokesman said. |
| The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta said other Indian states such as Maharashtra were keen to encourage Tata to build the car there. | |
| The Nano project was a major boost for the West Bengalese economy, with local authorities hoping to develop the area into a regional hub for low-cost car production. | The Nano project was a major boost for the West Bengalese economy, with local authorities hoping to develop the area into a regional hub for low-cost car production. |
| More than 760 workers are currently employed there and Tata may consider moving them to other sites. | |
| The Communist-led coalition in the state described Tata's decision as a "major loss" and described the current protests as "irresponsible". | The Communist-led coalition in the state described Tata's decision as a "major loss" and described the current protests as "irresponsible". |
| Rural anger | |
| One of the leaders of the protest movement said farmers' rights to their land had to be respected. | One of the leaders of the protest movement said farmers' rights to their land had to be respected. |
| The Nano is intended to offer the dream of owning a car to the masses | |
| "It is Tata's decision, not ours," he said of the move to stop work. | |
| "We never asked them to leave." | |
| India's rapid industrialization in recent years has been the backbone of the country's strong economic growth. | |
| But this process has provoked a backlash since the majority of Indians still earn their living off the land. | |
| The policy of creating special economic zones to attract new investment has provided a focal point for the anger of poorer, rural families who rely on their land for food and income. |