Protesters opposed to a factory being set up to manufacture the world's cheapest car in eastern India said Friday they were stepping up their blockade of the plant.
The new threat came a day after demonstrators prevented workers from Tata Motors, which is manufacturing the Nano car, from leaving the factory in Singur, 35 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the eastern city of Kolkata.
“We will not allow anyone to enter Tata's plant on Friday,” Becharam Manna, a member of the Save Farmland Committee.
The activist group says poor farmers were forcibly evicted to make way for the factory, and want the land returned.
Manna said protesters will surround the plant on Friday afternoon and lay siege on roads across the West Bengal state where the factory is located.
Police said they were ready to escort Tata Motors engineers and workers who were confined to the factory premises after work on Thursday evening for several hours.
Last week, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata conglomerate, warned he would move the factory out of the state if protests continued.
Tata Motors has invested 350 million dollars in the project to make the 2,500-dollar compact car, billed as the world's cheapest.
Activists have said they will only call off their often violent protests if the government returns 400 acres (160 hectares) taken from farmers.
The government acquired 997 acres for the project but activists insist the project needs only about 600 acres.
According to the state government, the factory is 85 percent complete. Tata Motors hopes to start selling the car in October.
