The West Bengal government is planning to acquire 10,000-14,000 acres in Nandigram, spread over 27 mouzas or wards, in East Midnapore district for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), reports CNBC-TV18.

But even before the government issued formal notification for the proposed acquisition, angry villagers clashed with the police. Such was the situation on Wednesday evening that the police had to fire 15 rounds, but that made matters worse.

It was the proposed notification that triggered the violence. It merely indicates the mouzas or wards where the proposed land acquisition would take place, but villagers mistook it for a formal notification issued under the Land Acquisition Act. They attacked panchayat offices in protest.

The police resisted by firing 15 rounds in the air but that made matters worse. Villagers dug up roads, destroyed bridges and culverts to make the area targeted for acquisition completely inaccessible. Even 24 hours after the flare up, the police wouldn't venture into the disturbed area.

Arun Kumar Gupta, IG, Midnapore Range, commented, "We are watching the situation closely. There might be a confrontation if we go there now. We are trying to normalise it with the help of locals. We will go when it gets better, anyway, no area is out of bounds for us."

Nandigram is different from Singur. And unlike Singur, it would result in large-scale displacement of dwellings, besides livelihood. Land here, however, is not as productive as in Singur, but that isn't making Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's life easier. People in Nandigram feel they were neglected through decades, and now the government is grabbing their homes and livelihood.

And finally, what has made matters worse here is lack of development. Schools are in a shambles, and the government has done little or nothing to improve irrigation facilities. Frustration has now turned into anger, and acquiring land here certainly won't be easy.

Six Naxalites have been detained for interrogation in connection with Wednesday's violence at Nandigram.

On the other hand, the Singur controversy simply refuses to die down. A group of political activists ransacked the office of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) in Central Kolkata today. The WBIDC has been facilitating the land acquisition for Tata Motors' Singur project, by buying the land on behalf of the government. No arrests have been made so far.

This drama unfolded even as Tata Motors announced the selection of 11 trainees - all residents of Singur villages. The group will undergo an extensive six-month training programme, after which it will be eligible for employment in the company's Singur small car project. Tata motors will select more such groups for training over the coming months.