IT professionals fear Singur fallout
Bano Haralu
Thursday, September 04, 2008, (Kolkata)
Pro-industry voices have tried to make themselves heard above the din at ground zero in Singur, where the fate of Tata Motors plant hangs in balance. But in one case, a group of IT professionals wanting to explain to Mamata Banerjee the importance of Nano factory were driven out of the dharna site by the Trinamool workers.
The professionals, who have launched a website to support industry, complain that the Trinamool Congress chief did not lend them an ear.
Ranjan Basu, a bio IT professional, says: "They said we were agents of a political party. That is not true. Unfortunately we were never heard at all. We never expected this."
The angry reception triggered off a spontaneous rally at the IT Sector in Salt Lake, Kolkata, where a signature campaign for the West Bengal industry has been on for the past week.
"I don't know what will the future of the industry. If Tata goes back, I don't know what will be the future of the younger generation," Jhuma Mukhopadhy, another professional, expresses her apprehensions.
Across several districts in West Bengal, signature campaigns and rallies in support of industry are taking place.
At the same, there is a palpable fear in the IT sector that if the Tatas move out, West Bengal will lose the momentum of industrialization.