November 01, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 19, 1428

KOLKATA: India’s West Bengal state was paralysed on Wednesday by a strike called by the opposition to protest over the deaths of villagers opposed to the setting up of an industrial park, police said.

Shops and commercial establishments downed their shutters and train services and flights were disrupted as the 12-hour shutdown began to take effect in the eastern state.

Schools and colleges were also closed as activists of the state’s opposition Trinamool Congress Party protested against the spurt in violence in Nandigram, a village 120 kilometres south of the state capital Kolkata.

Six people were killed this month in clashes between supporters of the ruling Marxists who want to set up a Chinese-style industrial enclave and villagers opposed to the acquisition of 14,500 acres (about 5,900 hectares) of land for Indonesia’s Salim Group to set up a petrochemical hub.

In March, 14 people were killed when police opened fire in Nandigram to clear protestors from an area designated for the project.

D.D Chowdhury, manager of the Kolkata’s international airport, said “some flights were delayed” while Deepak Jha, spokesman for the Eastern Railways said train services were badly hit.

Senior police officer Raj Kanojia said, “Security has been put on high alert at the railway stations, government offices and market places.” About 150 protesters were arrested for squatting on railway tracks and obstructing traffic, he said.

The special economic zones, or SEZs, are privately-run enclaves with tax breaks and have been presented by the government as central to India’s drive to boost economic growth and lure foreign investment.

So far, India has approved 366 SEZs that have brought in 477 billion rupees ($12 billion) in investment, trade ministry figures released last month said.

There are 149 enclaves already operational, employing 40,729 people. The job numbers are expected to swell to 1.5 million by December 2009.

The government also hopes SEZs will generate $25 billion worth of exports in 2008-2009.

—AFP