Protests continue near India's cheapest car plant

Thousands of angry farmers protested Sunday outside a factory that manufactures the world's cheapest car in India's West Bengal state to demand the return of land they say was taken from them without proper compensation.

The farmers claim that India's Tata Motors has not paid them proper compensation for the 405 hectares the company acquired in Singur, a village 30 kilometres northwest of Calcutta, the state capital.

The land is now the site of a factory producing the Nano automobile, which is scheduled to go on sale by the end of the year for US$2,500 (NZ$3,500) . Repeated protests, however, could delay the launch.

Nearly 3,000 armed police surrounded the factory Sunday as thousands of farmers gathered, but no violence had been reported.

"We have water cannons ready to cope with any eventuality," said the area's superintendent of police, Rajiv Mishra.

Protesters with posters, banners and flags lined both sides of the highway leading to the factory.

"We want our land back. Money cannot compensate our losses. We are farmers and we want to live by farming," said Bibekanada Das, a farmer who said he lost about two acres (less than a hectare) of land.

"The Tatas should bow down before people's power and return the land," Mamta Banerjee, chief of the opposition Trinamool Congress party, told reporters as she joined the protesters.

Banerjee's party has led the fight against Tata and last week called for the company to return 160 hectares of land to the farmers.