September 03, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 2, 1429

NEW DELHI, Sept 2: India’s Tata Group on Tuesday officially suspended construction of a plant to build the world’s cheapest car in the face of unrelenting protests and said it was looking at new sites.

The group, which had hoped to market the four-door Nano for $2,264 a unit by October, said it was considering shifting the plant from its site in the Singur district of Marxist-ruled West Bengal state.

“Tata Motors has been constrained to suspend the construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant in Singur in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site,” the company said in a statement.

“In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities,” it said.

The announcement came as thousands of protesters continued to blockade the nearly completed Nano car plant in Singur, a suburb of state capital Kolkata, saying poor farmers had been evicted to make way for the factory.

The protesters, led by local opposition leaders, say they will lift their siege only if 400 acres of land is returned to the owners.

Protests in the area have been going on for two years but recently escalated. On Friday, the company said it was halting work at the project after it could not assure its employees’ safety. Tata Motors has already poured $350 million into the project.—AFP