Kolkata: The deserted factory shed of Tata Motors from where they had proposed to build the Nano car has become a tourist spot, with many visiting the area to witness contemporary history.

“We were driving down Durgapur Expressway and thought we’d see the place with our own eyes. Have read and seen it on television for the last 10 years,” says Shekhar Dutta, a doctor who was driving to his relative’s place in Birbhum district.

Similar scenes were witnessed as traffic slowed down in front of the deserted plant where workers are now struggling to make the land suitable for farming. “This place has shaken a 34-year-old government, giving rise to Mamata’s political graph. It is certainly a political shrine in the state,” said Tulika Basu, a student of political science, who has come to visit the place of agitation.

For the district administration there is little scope for reflection, as chief minister Mamata Banerjee has set a near impossible timeline of 20 days to complete the process of returning land. The biggest hindrance has become the factory shed which is now being blasted by dynamite to make way for farmers.

“Underneath the shed is a 7-8 inches thick concrete slab which can withstand earthquakes measuring up to 7 on the Richter scale. We tried to break it with pneumatic breakers, but considering the timeline set by the chief minister, it will take a few months. We are using dynamite to break it,” said a manager of the company working on removing the plant.

“In total, 10 explosions were made to break the roof and the concrete piling of the factory shed,” said Sanjay Bansal, district magistrate of Hooghly.

However, many, including farmers of Singur, were surprised to hear the deadline set by Banerjee. “The Supreme Court of India in it verdict had set a time limit of 12 weeks. There is no gallantry award for the state if they do it earlier. On the contrary the administration is making mistakes in trying to do things in a hurry,” said Nirmal Das, a farmer who claims to have got less compensation in the process.

Others complain of wrong documents being handed over by the administration while others have got compensation cheques with the wrong name, spelling mistakes or cheques issued in a dead person’s name. “My father died three years back. the land was then not ours hence there was no question of transferring it to our names. Now they have issued a land deed in my dead father’s name,” said Tapan Banik, another farmer.

“There may have been a few clerical errors which will be rectified,” said Bansal, unwilling to comment on the deadline set by the chief minister.

There were also voices of discontent as share croppers are neither eligible for getting back land nor any compensation from the government. “We were also a part of the movement, but now land is being refunded but no one is bothered about us,” Pupai De, a landless labourer, said.