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West Bengal: Tata Motors Ltd., India's biggest truckmaker, stopped work at its factory for the world's cheapest car after workers were threatened by a political party demanding the return of farmland used for the plant.
"Our employees and workers are not attending work today," Tata Motors' spokesman Debasis Ray said on Friday. "We are assessing the situation."
Trinamool Congress, the biggest opposition party in the communist-controlled West Bengal state where the Nano factory is located, started an indefinite protest on August 24, asking for return of the land to farmers.
Tata Motors' Chairman Ratan Tata said last week that he may move the plant if disruptions to work continue.
Ray said the work was halted at the factory for the first time today after the indefinite strike began.
Mamata Banerjee, the leader of Trinamool Congress, said on Tuesday that 162 hectares of land acquired for the factory must be returned to farmers to end the strike.
Tata Motors gained 4.7 per cent to 435 rupees at 12:26 pm in Mumbai trading on Friday. The stock has declined 41 per cent so far this year.
The 623-cc Nano is crucial for Tata Motors, India's biggest truck maker, to boost sales among first-time car buyers in India, where more than 45 million people use motorcycles for transportation.
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